Fight For Love
by PEANUT v1.2
Summary: Marlene is kidnapped. But she isn't the real target. Can Cloud and Tifa's new-found relationship survive this trial? Cloti and Yuffentine.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey readers, how's it goin? PEANUT here with yet another Cloti story. This story is going to be a bit different than "The Journey", which focused mainly on personal growth and feelings. This one focuses more on a suspenseful story, full of drama, sorrow, chaos, and, of course, love.

Something useful you need to know about the story: It takes place a little bit after Dirge of Cerberus. I won't be referencing the game too much, so don't worry about that. Just one thing...pretend Cloud wasn't in that game at all. You'll see how it fits into the story later.

Alrighty, enjoy the prologue. (:

* * *

Prologue

_One week earlier..._

It was 6:00 PM on a Friday night. Seventh Heaven was closed early due to the fact that Tifa was going on a date that night. Her boyfriend would be coming around 6:30 to pick her up, then they would head out to the hills outside the city to enjoy the star-filled sky. It truly was a beautiful night, and Tifa was glad to get out. And yet...

Tifa sighed. She just got nervous whenever she was going out on a date. She had no clue why this was; she greatly liked her boyfriend and wasn't shy around him at all. In fact, they were a pretty good fit. Tifa enjoyed his company and smiled a lot when they were together.

"Tifa!"

The young woman turned around at the sound of her name, brown eyes wandering downward to the source. "Yes, Marlene?"

"Are you goin out tonight again?"

Tifa smiled softly. "Yes sweetheart, I am."

"Are me and Denzel gonna be all alone?"

"No, Barret will come over and take care of you," Tifa said patiently, brushing some of Marlene's brown hair out of her eyes.

"Daddy's coming? Oh boy!" she cried out in delight, running toward the stairs. "Denzel! My daddy is comin tonight!"

Tifa smiled, standing up fully again. Marlene was so precious to her; the seven year-old's spirit was never broken down by anything that happened to her in her past. She may have lost her biological parents, but she had fallen in love with Barret and accepted how life had turned out. Even when she lived fearing she would lose Denzel, she always was trying to make him smile. And Denzel, bless his soul, would humor her and laugh at all her ridiculous jokes. But now that the geostigma was gone, there was no need for corny jokes. Everyone was naturally happy again.

It had been only six months since the day Sephiroth was defeated and the geostigma of all the children in Edge was cured. It was such a glorious day; never before had victory tasted so sweet. Well, at least, Tifa thought so. She always did have a heart for children, and she was thrilled when they were healed of the stigma.

Since that day, Tifa had kept herself busy with her work. People always said that the world kept turning no matter what happened, and that was absolutely true. Business at the bar continued to keep her occupied and on the side, Tifa started a charity to feed a lot of the children who lost their remaining family to the stigma. Her workload was overwhelming, but it was alright. She was just so glad she could do something to impact others in a good way.

Tifa looked down at her watch. 6:15. She gasped and rushed up the stairs to put the finishing touches for makeup and hair.

Precisely seventeen minutes later, the doorbell rang downstairs. Smiling at her mirror image, Tifa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. _Ah, perfect timing,_ she thought, exiting the bathroom and heading downstairs. She hurried to the door, careful not to trip on the stairs. For the date, she had put on flats instead of her normal sneakers. Even though her appearance didn't matter for where they were going and what they were doing, Tifa still wanted to look like she was dressing up special for her date. Once she was at the bottom, she headed to the door, straightening her fashionable blue jacket and white pants. She took a deep breath before opening the door, a smile appearing on her face when she saw her date.

"Hello, Rude."

"Hi Tifa," the Turk said with a smile. "Are you ready to go?" Tifa nodded and put her hand in his. Rude gave her hand a gentle squeeze and widened his smile in response to her silent answer. "Let's go."

* * *

No more than half an hour later, they were at their designated location: a lone hill outside edge. It was grassy and pretty bare at the top, except for one lone tree that would have provided great shade during the day. However, it wasn't day time now; the sun was just starting to set as they opened up a picnic basket and enjoyed their dinner.

The meal and the date in general were terrific. Rude had a great sense of humor, always making Tifa laugh and giggle. And Tifa, always kindhearted, knew how to make Rude smile by giving him a peck on the cheek or playfully stealing the sunglasses he wore despite the fact it was getting dark out.

"That's not funny," Rude told Tifa, scolding her for taking away his glasses.

"Oh, then why are you laughing, Mr. Serious?" Tifa said through her giggles. "Oh, look at me, I'm Rude. I don't say anything unless you're Reno or my enemy and when I do I use two words."

"Ouch. Your words hurt me." Rude sounded serious, but Tifa could see him smiling.

"Oh, you know I love it," Tifa laughed, setting a hand on his cheek. "You never say anything without meaning, which makes it even more important when you do speak," she said tenderly, stroking his cheek. Rude smirked, making Tifa laugh again. "Oh come on Rude, say something."

"Why? I believe you just said it all."

Tifa playfully hit him on the arm, an action which made him chuckle. "Alright, I'll say something. I'll say that you're right. I only speak when I have something to say. When I'm with you, always have something to say, but at the same time you always keep me at a loss for words. What am I to do with you, Tifa Lockhart?"

She blushed in the darkness, turning her head away. Rude took that as an opportunity to steal back his sunglasses. He slid them off her face and allowed them to settle back onto his before Tifa could take them back. A smile appeared on his face as he reached forward and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Are you going to let me see those beautiful eyes, pretty lady?"

The young woman turned to look at him, but something was wrong. Her smile and blush were completely gone. "Rude..."

He froze. What had he done wrong?

Tifa smiled weakly. "Rude...I...have something I need to say tonight."

"What is it?"

Silence hung between them for a moment. "I think we should stop seeing each other."

No! This was a nightmare for him. The love of his life.... "W-why?"

"It's been a terrific six months, but Rude, it only feels like a great friendship to me. Nothing more," Tifa said softly.

"You must feel something...."

"I do," Tifa replied. "I feel like I love you. As a brother. And as somebody I can run to whenever I need something."

Rude felt his heart breaking. "Tifa...."

"I'm so, so sorry, Rude. I....hope you can see it someday."

Being the Turk that he was, Rude put on an all-business face and nodded. "Right." He rose to his feet and offered Tifa a hand and a weak smile, letting her know he didn't hate her completely. Or at all, really. He loved her, and he would continue to love her the rest of his life. "Let's get you home now."


	2. Chapter 1: Life As We Know It

Chapter 1: Life As We Know It

_I had thought that time healed all wounds. I had hope and believed that things could be different some day. But actions speak louder than words, and in the end, doing nothing says more than anything else in the world could. _

_People change, I know. I've changed a lot, and so have those around me. But that isn't necessarily a good thing. _

_Circumstances cause change, and change causes action. At least it should, right? That's what I thought all this time. _

_But no. The world around me may be changing, but nothing about you will ever change. _

_This...is what I have come to realize. _

~Present Time~

"Tifa!" Marlene screamed. "Tiiiifa!!!"

The bartender only laughed. "Marlene, no matter how much you whine, I can't change the facts. You are not a boy. So that means you can't participate in "Bring-Your-Son-To-Work Day."

"Yeah, but--"

"Soon enough, it'll be "Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work Day" and you'll get to see all the fun stuff your daddy does."

Marlene wiped at her nose. "Do you mean it?"

Tifa smiled in a motherly way at her adoptive daughter. "Of course I do." The young woman playfully stole away Marlene's bowl of cereal. "Now, enough talk. You have to get ready for school my dear, and if you don't hurry, you're going to be late for the bus." Marlene gasped and jumped off her bar stool, running for the stairs, leaving Tifa to chuckle at the change of mood. She loved that girl so much; it was as if she had given birth to her sometimes.

It had been a few years since they had first started living together. After the fall of meteor, Tifa and Cloud had taken up residence in a new home outside of the demolished Midgar. Together, along with many other "slum-dwellers", they built Edge. Many people took residence in that place, and pretty soon it was another Midgar. Only this time, there were no metal plates over their heads. They could see the beauty of the sky and everyday remember how life as they knew it almost ended not so long ago.

Time had passed quickly, but nobody forgot the aches and pains of life. So many lives were lost due to the tragedies that occurred during the days of Shin-ra's rule. It was so hard to believe it had been over three years since the start of her journey with AVALANCHE. So, so hard to believe.

Tifa finished rinsing out the dirty bowl and put it in the proper cupboard. This was her life now. Each morning, she would wake up and make breakfast for Marlene and Denzel, then send them off to school, then open the bar. Normally they would get home around three-thirty and do their homework upstairs until dinner time. Tifa, busy tending the bar, usually made them something simple like macaroni and cheese. Seventh Heaven closed at nine and after two hours of clean-up work, Tifa went to bed.

The next day the same schedule.

Sometimes, Tifa wished that life wasn't so mundane. A little bit of excitement never hurt anyone. Okay, so maybe that wasn't true. The last excitement she had was a week after Sephiroth was defeated, and she wasn't going there again.

The doorbell rang, bringing Tifa out of her thoughts. It was only seven in the morning; who would come at such an early hour? Without answering her own question, Tifa walked out from behind the bar and headed to the door. She opened it with ease, but her heart stopped when she saw who was there. Two men in black. She gasped and attempted to slam the door, but one of them stuck a foot in the way. Tifa took a few steps back as the door flung open and the men stepped in.

One of them held a pistol in his hand; the other a knife. However, they did have one thing in common: they wore ski-masks to hide their identities. "What's going on?" Tifa cried, startled.

"Shut it, mother."

The one man turned to the other who had spoken and slapped his cheek. "Don't go around calling just anyone mother!" he protested, surprising emotion in his voice. _What's with these clowns?_

"Well sorryyy!"

Tifa, while they were distracted, had backed up to the bar counter. There was an emergency button under the ledge of it. If she pushed it, help would be on its way soon enough. And these goons wouldn't even know it, being so busy arguing and all. But even more than that, Tifa noticed they didn't seem too bright...

"Hey, where you goin?" the first goon said, pointing a knife at her from afar.

Tifa lifted her hands slightly before lowering them again, setting them on the counter behind her. "Just thought I'd leave you two to your arguing. That's all."

"Yeah, right. Come here before I make you, girly."

Tifa stiffened, straightening herself up. "Why don't you make me?" she challenged. "It's my bar; you have no right to order me around." Her voice sounded very calm, but her heart was racing inside her chest. She had wished for excitement; here it was. But she hadn't fought anyone in a long time, let alone two at once. This couldn't turn out well no matter what happened.

"She's still feisty," he mumbled. He turned to his cohort with the gun. "This time, you deal with her." Tifa furrowed her eyebrows. This time?

The one with a gun chuckled. "As you wish, brother." He suddenly lifted it up and shot a bullet directly at the bartender. But, as they probably already knew, Tifa wasn't the average bartender. She easily dodged the first bullet, then a second, and a third. But the fourth nearly embedded itself in her leg.

"Coward," Tifa gasped when the bullets stopped coming. "Come fight me like a man."

"Funny; I don't think you're in a position to be ordering him around," a new voice said. Tifa started, eyes widening. The voice came from the stairwell. All three adults turned to the source.

_No!_ Tifa thought angrily, gritting her teeth. Another man, dressed just the like other two. But instead of holding a weapon, he held an unconscious, bound child. _Marlene!_ That man must have broken in upstairs while the two other goons kept her occupied down her. But Tifa didn't understand; how did they know where to find Marlene? And what about Denzel; had they known he wasn't going to be home this day? Was this all very well planned out or just chance?

"Let her go," Tifa said stiffly.

_Bang! _

Pain erupted from Tifa's thigh, making her gasp out loud. She had been shot! Leg burning, she leaned against the bar counter for support. _That guy has some guts, shooting me while I'm distracted over the fact they're __**kidnapping**__ my child...._

"Try again, pretty lady. You're not going to win back the girl this way," said the gun-armed goon. His voice was thick with some emotion...it sounded happy. What a sick, sick man.

"Come fight me," she dared, lifting her fists once again. Nobody got away with threatening her family. Nobody got away with injuring her with such a cheap shot. They would all pay. Even if Tifa couldn't possibly win against the three of them, she would injure them severely enough that somebody else could finish the job. It could cost Tifa her life, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

"Some other day. Let's get her outta here," he said, turning to the leader.

"NO!" Tifa screamed, forgetting all about her leg and charging the gunman. He was so started that he didn't move. Tifa kicked him over the head, then went for the one with the knife. But he was ready for her. He grabbed onto her foot as soon as it came up and held on to it. Stepping forward, he swung her around in the air several times before flinging her to the other side of the bar. Tifa grunted when she crashed into the glass cupboards, shards of glass cutting through the back of her leather shirt before she fell to the ground.

"I must say," the thug started. "I thought this fight would end differently than before. I'm a bit disappointed in you, Tifa."

"Shut up," she grumbled, pushing herself up. "This fight is not over."

"Looks to me that it is."

"Well it isn't!" she shouted, grabbing a plate that fell but didn't break when she crashed. She threw it at the goon she apparently knew as if it were a Frisbee. However, she couldn't see the blow, because just then another bullet was shot in her direction from her other "friend". She ducked, barely missing it. But she was satisfied to hear the man cry out and the sound of the plate breaking.

"You'll pay! Your little girl will pay because you had to fight," he cried, sounding as if he were actually shedding tears. _What a baby._

"Leave her out of this!" Tifa yelled in outrage, suddenly getting up to her feet and rushing forward again. But she was too far away; they saw her attack coming a mile away. Just when she was about to throw the first punch, another bullet was embedded in her skin. It went into her upper left shoulder. It sent Tifa stumbling backwards, her punch never being completed. Before she could regain her sense, one of the men punched her in the gut and sent her flying. She gasped, eventually sliding to a stop on the wooden floor. _I can't move..._

"Looks like you're out of the game, Lockhart," the thug holding Marlene said, chuckling slightly. Tifa only grunted in response. "Boys, our work here is done. Let's take our pawn and go."

_No..._Tifa thought weakly, reaching a hand forward as she watched Marlene being taken away. _I've gotta do something...._ She shut her eyes as she tried to push herself up, pain exploding from every part of her body. A kick in the gut brought her crashing down again, consciousness nearly leaving her all together as she lost her breath.

"Was that really necessary?" a voice asked.

"Well, uh, no, I guess it wasn't. But enjoyed it so much, I'll do it again." Tifa grunted, a second kick that landed in the same place as the first impacting her. "Now we can go." Barely awake, Tifa heard three sets of feet walking away from her. And then out of the bar. With Marlene.

Tifa planted a hand on the floor, pushing herself forward on the glass covered ground. She could feel her blood all over the wooden floor, and she could feel the glass getting stuck in her arms and legs. It didn't matter now. Nothing mattered now that Marlene was gone. Tifa pulled herself forward until she was at the bar ledge. She had to do this.

Doing what she couldn't do before, Tifa struggled and reached up until she finally hit the big red button. A blaring alarm went off, reverberating throughout the whole place. And an alarm was going off to all her friends' cell phones now.

Tifa collapsed on the ground, head pounding and body shaking from all her bleeding throbbing wounds. There, on the brink of death, she allowed herself to say **his** name again.

"Cloud..."

Then, no strength remaining in her at all, Tifa Lockhart left consciousness.


	3. Chapter 2: Shattered Glass

Chapter 2: Acquaintances and Shattered Glass

"And that is how you make a proposition," Barret told the young boy with him, a smile appearing on his face. He turned to the client. "Aint that right? You gonna give gil to rebuild my hometown, right?"

"Y-yes," the shuddering man said, clearly afraid of Barret and the metal arm. In truth, he was only giving money because he was terrified of the big black man with the gun in his arm. Little did he know, Barret always did business this way. That was how he got most of the funds for rebuilding the town that Shin-ra had destroyed.

"Excellent. You can send your check to Seventh Heaven Bar." Barret suddenly turned serious. "And I'll know if you don't follow through. Got it?" The man nodded vigorously, making the burly man smile. "Great! Well, have a good day then."

Walking out of the building in Junon, Denzel was in completely awe. "Barret, you're so cool!" he gushed in a way that only a ten year old boy could. For so long, Cloud had been his hero. Now, however, he was transferring that emotion to Barret, who was so much cooler.

"Aww, shucks kid, it was nuttin," Barret said, clearly flustered and pleased with the praise. "We still got a lot more to do today before we send ya home! Come on!"

Just then, his cell phone went off. But he knew by the tone of it that it wasn't just a friend calling. Cid had set up a system with all their cell phones so that if any of them ever were in trouble, they could send out an SOS to everyone in the gang. Somebody had triggered that alarm.

"Hold on, Denz." Barret dug deep into his pocket until he found the phone. He flipped it open and immediately saw were the distress signal came from. "Sorry kid, days plans got cancelled. There's trouble and we gotta get to your home fast."

* * *

"Tifa!!" Yuffie screamed when she saw her friend, who was lying unconscious on the glass-covered floor. "Teef, wake up!" she cried, running over the shards of glass to her best friend. No, she was more of a role model, actually. Tifa always acted as if she were happy, even when life exploded in her face. Even though she never admitted it, Yuffie really looked up to her. And seeing her there, lying on the ground covered in blood....

"What the &!*# is goin on here?!" a voice boomed from the doorway of the bar.

"Cid, help," Yuffie pleaded. "She's hurt....really bad."

"What happened to her?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Don't know. Just got here."

Cid shook his head. "Shera, get in here and help the girl while I make sure whoever did this is gone." The pilot walked in and scanned the whole bar before cautiously heading upstairs, spear in hand. The woman behind him, his new wife Shera, walked in past him and came to Tifa.

"Tifa? Tifa, wake up," Shera requested, her calm voice still having a lot of emotion behind it. There was no response from the bartender. "Tifa..."

"She's still alive," a dark voice said from the other side of the room. "I can sense her heart beating." Yuffie turned at the voice.

"Vinnie!" the ninja cried. "What happened here?" Vincent only shrugged, making Yuffie pout. "Some help you are." She turned back to her friend.

"Tifa, if you can hear me, you need to say something," Shera was saying. "Tifa."

"Nobody upstairs," Cid reported, reentering the room. "Marlene's window was broken though."

Shera nodded faintly. "We probably won't find anything out until Tifa comes out of her stupor. Looks like she really took a beating."

"**TIFAAAA!!!**" Yuffie screeched, making everyone in the room cover their eyes and mumble curses in protest.

Tifa groaned, subconsciously bringing a hand to her ear. After a moment, she opened her eyes, seeing Yuffie, Shera, and Cid all staring at her in concern. The second she looked at Yuffie's face, she knew who was responsible for waking her. Oh well, her headache was already terrible; even Yuffie's yelling couldn't affect it too much.

"Three men," Tifa reported softly. "One with a knife, one with a gun. The other carried off Marlene....I couldn't stop them," she whispered, eyelids drooping.

"Don't worry none about her, we'll find her. Shera, patch the girl up," Cid ordered, being the most realistic of the group. Tifa needed to be taken care of before they tried to help Marlene.

"You've gotta find Marlene...these guys could kill her so easily," Tifa pleaded quietly, sitting herself up. She grunted, grabbing her shoulder in pain.

"First things first. We gotta sew you up. Then, since you know the most of all of us, we'll sit down and gather information."

Tifa sighed. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, things were running much more smoothly. Cid was hovering around, ordering around everyone to do different specified jobs. Vincent and Yuffie were sweeping up the glass and blood. Nanaki sat with Denzel in the corner, trying to calm the boy's fears. Reeve, who had arrived five minutes earlier, was inspecting the two bullets Shera had gotten out of Tifa. Shera was sewing up the bullet holes and making sure Tifa wouldn't get any infections. Cid stood by and made sure she was doing a good job.

"Good work everyone, but vampire boy, you missed a spot over there."

"Shut it, Cid," Barret muttered, pushing the older man out of his way so he could stand closer to Tifa. Cid had tried to get him and Denzel to do some work right after they walked in the door a minute ago, but Cid was promptly told off by Barret, who was overly concerned for Tifa.

"Barret, would you stop fussing over me? I'm fine," Tifa said, protesting when Barret tried to take the needle away from Shera for the second time.

"Then why are you so pale?! They should be takin better care of ya than that."

"They are taking care of me," Tifa stated softly, careful not to flinch too much when Shera accidently hurt her. "Don't worry, Barret. If they wanted me dead, it would have happened already."

Barret went off to the other side of the room, muttering curses and complaints against Tifa's theory. He hated that she was shot. She was like a sister to him. And of course, since he put himself in the older brother role, it was his job to protect her. Since he hadn't been able to do that earlier, he was going to make up for it by beating the three men to a pulp. Not just for what they did to Tifa, but for the fact they took Marlene. Barret was going to be sure he had the pleasure of killing those fools.

"I have never seen a bullet like these," Reeve was saying to nobody in particular. "They're made to come out easily, but it must have hurt like crazy when they actually pierced the skin."

"You got that right," Tifa mumbled and Shera finished with the last stitch.

"I'll take these back to Shin-ra labs for a look-see," he said, carefully putting them inside a plastic zip-lock bag. The official turned to Vincent and Yuffie, who were just finishing cleaning up. "You two find any clues as two who are men are?"

"Nope," Yuffie said with a sigh. Reeve looked at her for only a brief moment before silently turning to the ex-Turk.

"Absolutely nothing. The masks must have kept all their hair from falling. No way to trace them; no DNA; the only thing we have are the bullets."

Nanaki stirred in the corner. He had been watching everything from a distance, trying to overcome the sense of Déjà-vu he felt. Something about this whole thing just seemed too familiar. "If I had a scent of them, I could try and find them. But we don't even have that, do we?"

"The bullets?"

Nanaki shook his head. "They're too dirty; I'd only be sniffing out Tifa."

"One of them grabbed my ankle," Tifa threw out there. "How about that?"

"It still could be diluted by your scent, but I'll try my best." The animal approached the Tifa slowly, taking his time. Everyone else got out of the way, standing feet away. This was the best chance they had to find Marlene. If it didn't work, then they would be completely without a lead.

Red XIII, or Nanaki to his friends, stopped by Tifa and sniffed the top of her shoes. Then he moved up slightly, sniffing up her calf. Everyone silently watched him back away and smell the area around Tifa. He paced the room a little bit, but eventually he just stopped and shook his head. "The scent is too dim. I can't even tell which way he walked around this room. There's no hope for tracking him outside where the surrounding smells are much stronger."

Everyone sighed, feeling defeated.

"Hello there! Looks like you guys could use a bit of help."

Tifa turned her head toward the doorway, seeing a fiery red haired man standing there. "Reno!"

"Glad to see you too," he said with a smile. "Rufus sent me when he heard Reeve was here. Said he wanted in on the action. Isn't he such a nice fellow?"

Barret mumbled something against that, but nobody was listening. Reno was a Turk. He was probably great at solving mysteries. However, he was alone, which was strange. Where was the man that always traveled with him? His best friend and Tifa's ex-boyfriend?

"Where's Rude?" Tifa asked casually, sitting up on her barstool slightly as she waited for an answer.

"Costa del Sol. He's on vacation. Lucky guy! Wish I could have some time off..." Reno's face fell slightly, and he just went on for a minute mumbling about how unlucky he was and how he wanted a drink, but he wasn't gonna get one here because it was a crime scene and all.... "Anyway, you all just get outta here. I'll--"

"Why the #*#&$ would we do that?" Cid interrupted.

Reno sighed. "So I can get some detective work done here. We have a room set up at the conference hall on the edge of—well, Edge. You guys can go there, gather information and try and fit the pieces together. I'll call you if I find any clues."

Everyone turned to Tifa at that moment. She wasn't sure why at first, but then she realized it was because they weren't sure if she was alright to move. "Let's go," she said simply, rising to her feet as quickly as she could without reinjuring herself. "We gotta do this. We need to find out where they've taken Marlene before it's too late."

There was a moment of silence, the group taking into account the severity of the situation. Tifa was injured, Marlene was gone, and there were no traces of the men who were responsible. Things were not looking good at that moment. "Barret, why don't you check the drawer in the living room; I store some materia there."

"Awight."

"Everyone else can get ready to leave, I'll be back in just a moment," Tifa said, dismissing herself. The clothes she wore now were too tattered and bloody for her to wear the rest of the day. And besides, she wanted something that would cover the glass cuts on her arms and legs. Not waiting for everyone to finally move, Tifa headed upstairs. Her entire body ached with each passing step, but that didn't matter to her. Marlene mattered. Catching the men who took her mattered. Finding out how she knew the one...that mattered.

Tifa sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she entered her bedroom. Already, the tension of the situation was getting to her. She needed to discover the truth before hope completely disappeared from her sight. Maybe Marlene wasn't far out of reach. And maybe, just maybe, the answers were there with her.


	4. Chapter 3: Reunited

Wow, I'm surprised this has so many reviews already! My last story didn't have too many. o.o

Anywho, here's the next chapter. And don't worry, Cloud will enter the story soon enough. ;)

* * *

Chapter 3: Reunited

"Who dares to take Marlene?" Barret boomed, his enraged voice reverberating throughout the conference room. "And who would dare to fight Tifa?! Okay, so she was defeated, but still, she's an excellent fighter! They had to have known she was going to be alone. Those goons must have known her weaknesses."

"Barret, calm down," Reeve said passively. "We'll get our answers soon."

"That girl sure can take a while in the bathroom," Cid mumbled, only to be slapped by both Yuffie and Shera.

"She's wounded, you jerk!" Yuffie cried. "It's not her fault she feels sick. Just wait."

"Hey, your daughter wasn't taken, stupid ninja!" Barret shouted.

"No, she wasn't. But taking it out on everyone around you isn't helping the situation."

"She's right," Vincent put in, surprising everyone.

"Fine," Cid snapped, pounding the table. "I just thought ya'll wanted to figure out what's going on."

"We do, Cid," his wife said. "And we will. But we'll only get the answers if we're patient. Tifa's under enough stress as it is; we have to do whatever we can to help her through this. And if that means giving her a moment or two, then it's fine."

At that very moment, Tifa exited the bathroom down the hall. She exhaled a silent breath, instinctively running a hand through her hair. What was wrong with her? She was nauseas and afraid. She didn't want to go into that room with all her friends, because maybe she was afraid of what they would find. What if Marlene was gone forever? Would they blame her for it? Or would they just accept that it was a mistake.

_I didn't stand a chance against those three men,_ Tifa thought. Even if it were only two of them at that time, that was unfair since they held weapons. And it appeared as if they were well prepared for everything; if Tifa had known what was going to happen, maybe she would have been able to protect Marlene.

...But she still didn't understand what her connection was to that one man. He had told her he hoped this fight would end differently than the last. It sounded as if he had defeated her in that same way before. Ugh, why couldn't she make the connection?! This could cost Marlene her life, for goodness sake...

"Tifa?"

The young woman stiffened at the voice, instinctively pulling down the sleeves of her white shirt. _No...it couldn't be..._She turned around and sure enough, there he was.

"Hello, Cloud," she said formally, sticking out a hand. Cloud took it after a moment, confusion appearing in his eyes.

"Is everything alright? I got the distress signal from the bar. What's going on?"

Tifa sighed softly, shaking her head. "Long story."

"I have time."

"You're not leaving again?" Tifa burst out, surprised at the boldness of the question. Still, it was a justified inquiry. Since he just vanished off the face of the earth for the past few months...

Cloud shook his head, holding Tifa's gaze. "Not this time."

"Yo, hurry up!" a voice from the doorway down the hall called. Tifa turned around and saw Cid standing there, clearly angry "Injured or not, it doesn't take that long to get your butt back in—oh. I, uh, didn't see him there with ya...How're you doin, Cloud?"

"Smooth move, Cid," Tifa muttered.

"Injured?" Cloud questioned, concern rising up in his voice. Tifa nearly smacked herself on the forehead; why did Cid have to say that? "Tifa?"

"It's nothing, Cloud," Tifa said, attempting to sound passive. "It's nothing at all. Cid, I'm coming." She started to walk towards Cid, who was awkwardly standing in the middle of the hall now. But before she could get there, Cloud grabbed her arm. Tifa flinched slightly, but she did her best not to show that she was in pain.

"Tifa, what's going on?" Cloud demanded.

"Just come on. You'll find out soon enough." Tifa pulled her arm out of his and started toward the room. Cid, steps ahead of her, already entered the room. "By the way," Tifa started," how did you know to come here?"

"Reeve called and told me to come here instead of the bar. He assumed I would go there because of the signal."

Tifa nodded faintly. "Reeve, always thinking ahead," she mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," Tifa said more loudly. She pulled the door open and walked right in, all eyes on her. However, when they saw that she wasn't alone, all eyes went to the man behind her. Tifa ignored the heavy tension and took a seat between Yuffie and Barret, who seemed oblivious to her presence now.

"Cloud?" Yuffie said his name out of reflex, just as startled as everyone else in the room. "What--"

"Where have you been?!" Barret boomed, rising out of his seat. "You better have a good explanation for leaving us without any clue to where you been. You got some nerve showin your face."

"Barret, now's not the time," Vincent said in his normal monotone voice.

"But, Vinnie," Yuffie whispered to the man beside her, "he's right."

"I want to help," Cloud inserted, not hearing Yuffie's comment. "Please."

Everyone was shocked by Cloud's desperate tone. Had he changed? It appeared as if he had, but nobody was ready to believe it just yet. Especially not Tifa. Tifa was the one most hurt by him leaving.

"Sit down," Tifa mumbled, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Again she had their attention, whether she wanted it or not. They all looked confused and lost, exactly how Tifa felt on the inside. But she couldn't afford to show any emotion; they had a case to solve. "Seeing how Cloud always attracts trouble, maybe he knows something we don't about this whole thing." The young woman turned to the stunned man in the doorway. "Sit."

Cloud shifted his eyes to the floor as he obeyed, taking a seat next to Nanaki and Reeve.

"Let's get down to business," Reeve said, taking out a tape recorder. He set it on the table and turned it on before sliding it to Tifa, who was sitting across from him. "Here's how it will work. Tifa, you tell us everything that happened from seven AM to when we arrived at the bar. If necessary, we will throw in questions to gather more details. Tell us everything, even if it seems pointless."

Tifa nodded. She could do this. She had to do this without breaking down. Taking in a deep breath, she started. "At seven, I was putting away laundry. I had been washing my clothes and Marlene's before she woke up for school. At seven o' five, I woke up Marlene. It took about five minutes of pleading, but she finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom."

She stifled a chuckle. "You know, it's funny; she just started taking morning showers a few months ago. She said that she wanted to be grown up like me..." tears started to fill the rims of her eyes, but Tifa shook her head slightly and they vanished.

"Around seven twenty five, I gave Marlene a plate of eggs. Scrambled with a side of hash browns. We sat and talked while she ate her breakfast, mostly about school. Then we talked about Denzel and Barret. Marlene really wanted to go to work with her father that day, but I explained it was only for boys today. We ended the discussion there, because the bus was supposed to come in ten minutes and Marlene was still in her pajamas. So I sent her upstairs and cleaned the dishes from her breakfast and the one I had eaten before she woke up.

"...At seven twenty nine, somebody knocked on the front door. I went to answer it even though I wasn't sure who would come in the morning. As soon as I opened the door, I knew something wasn't right. There were two men, both maybe three or four inches taller than me. They both were all black, one of them having the top zipped down partway so you could see his chest. And they had ski masks on. I tried to close the door, but they got in anyway."

"I asked them what was going on, but they didn't tell me. They got into an argument with each other, so I backed up towards the bar hoping I could push the alarm button. But they caught me before I could do anything. A fight started, but I was outmatched. All together, the details of the battle are fuzzy. I don't remember how exactly I was attacked or how I performed, I just know they didn't even break a sweat."

"What weapons did they have?" Nanaki inquired.

"One had a gun, the other had a knife."

Reeve nodded, taking notes. "Go on, Tifa."

"Half way through, another man came into play. He came down the stairs and he had Marlene draped over his shoulder. She was unconscious."

"Was she tied up? What was she wearing?"

Tifa shook her head slightly. "I didn't see anything tying her up. And clothing wise....she had a pair of tan slacks and a dark blue polo. Her school uniform for the days she has gym. Her hair was in her face, so she must not have had it tied up."

"...anyway, as soon as I saw her, I was distracted. Then I was shot. It hurt like the dickens, but I remember only feeling frenetic that I got Marlene back. I ran to attack them again, but I was easily subdued. Sometime during that fight I got shot again. I was down for the count; I could barely breath because my upper chest hurt so much from the bullet. On their way out, one of the men kicked me hard in the stomach. Twice.

"After they left I crawled over to the bar and pushed the alarm button. Then I lost consciousness."

Everyone in the room was silent, a sense of grave seriousness dangling over all of them. They were expecting to hear something terrible, but nothing quite like this. Tifa really had almost died.

"But I don't think they wanted me dead," Tifa put in softly, knowing the thoughts of many in that room. "If they really wanted me out of the way, I wouldn't be here now. They needed me to pass on something. I don't know what, but they needed me alive for some reason."

"Did they say anything odd when they were with you?" Shera asked quietly, almost sounding afraid to speak out in the group.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, they got into an argument after one of them called me "mother." I think that counts as something bizarre. Oh, and one of them said something that implied we fought before. But I haven't fought in a long time, not since Bahamut attacked Edge."

The room was absolutely silent for a minute. Apparently nobody else had any questions for her. A cell phone rang, and Reeve answered it on the second ring. "Yes?" Pause. "Are you sure? ....alright, see you soon." He hung up the phone before turning to the others. "That was Reno. He wants me to meet him at the bar. We need to share information and try and fit the pieces together. He also told me he thinks they aren't leaving the Edge or Midgar area."

"So we're going to search the area?" Barret asked.

The former Shin-ra employee nodded. "Yes. I recommend doing it in pairs; if you do find anything, you certainly don't want to be alone when you do."

"I call Vinnie!" Yuffie burst out.

"Barret and I can work together, eh buddy?" Cid questioned, sending his friend a wink. Barret smirked; the two potty-mouths working together. That would be interesting. The burly man nodded.

"I will go with Reeve in case Reno has anything I can sniff out," Nanaki offered.

"Good idea, Red."

"I'll be fine searching on my own," Tifa said.

"NOOO..." Yuffie interjected. "You're still hurt; you shouldn't be going anywhere."

"What do you suggest I do, then?"

"Stay here with Cloud and gather information."

Tifa felt her heart drop. "_What?"_

Yuffie blushed. "Well, you said it yourself, Cloud probably has information that can help."

"Alright, it's settled then. Everyone knows where they will go?" Reeve asked, trying to speed things up.

"What about me?" Denzel asked. Clearly everyone had forgotten about him.

"Denzel, I'll take you back to my house. We can stay there and watch for anything suspicious," Shera said.

"Everyone, let's go!" Barret said, rising to his feet. "We're not gonna lose 'em without a fight. Cid?!"

"Ya, let's do it! Those *#&$* won't know what hit 'em."

"We all have each other's cell phone numbers," Reeve started. "Stay in touch."

Cid and Barret left first, whooping and hollering at the top of their lungs. Shera and Denzel followed them, then Yuffie and Vincent, and lastly, Reeve and Nanaki. This left Cloud and Tifa alone in the large room. Alone for the first time in over a year.

Tifa sighed mentally. _Let's just get this over with. This doesn't have to be personal; it's all about Marlene. Once we gather all the information we can, we'll go our separate ways. It isn't a big deal._

Oh what a lie that was.


	5. Chapter 4: Picking Up The Pace

Chapter 4: Picking up the Pace

"Reno, are you positive that your findings are correct?" Reeve asked the red-headed Turk. It was about five minutes ago that he and Nanaki had arrived at 7th Heaven, and it had only taken Reno two of those minutes to explain what he discovered.

"Yo, I'm positive! One of the neighbors heard the commotion over here. I was talkin to her while you guys were havin your conference meeting. She heard a lot of noise, so she set a tape recorder in the window right over there--" Reno pointed to an open window in the bar, which was followed by a window of the neighboring house. It was right there, so it could easily pick up the sounds of the bar.

"I see. And is anything useful on this tape?"

Reno shook his head slightly. "Haven't had time to listen to it. Figured we should take it in for analysis first."

Reeve chuckled. "Reno, you haven't lost your touch. And here I thought Rude was the brain behind you two."

"Rude? Hah! He hardly even opens his mouth, so it's impossible to know if he has a mind."

"You know that's not true," Reeve said seriously. "He's great with explosives, after all."

"Alright, you got me there. But I love him for his witty comments in battle. And his sarcasm. Seriously man, he is a genius when it comes to that stuff."

Meanwhile, Nanaki was sniffing out the bar. The glass was cleaned up, which had infuriated Reno. He had accused them all of polluting the crime scene by cleaning up. However, it didn't make much of a difference now; the tape recorder was an excellent lead.

"Red? What's thamatter?"

Nanaki shook his head slightly. "There is absolutely no trace of anyone else being here. The scents are completely faded. I just...was hoping that once everyone else was gone I could pick up on something."

Reno turned somber. "That's the problem with leather; it holds in a scent really well. Keeps it close to the body and doesn't let it linger too much."

"If only we had a bit of their leather fabric here," Reeve mumbled. "Then latching onto a scent wouldn't be a problem, right Nanaki?"

"That would certainly help, but there are no promises once we hit the road. Edge is far too dirty for me to be able to easily follow the scent by itself. This tape is a much better resource."

Reeve took a peek at his watch, a frown appearing on his face. This wasn't good. Time was passing far too quickly, and the more time they wasted, the further away Marlene got. "We don't have time to take this tape back for analysis. Maybe there's a tape player here we can use."

"Cloud's room is well insulated," Nanaki threw in. The other two looked at him, curious as to how he knew that information and how it was important. "Meaning we can listen to the tape in there with minimum sound interference."

"Ahhh! I see. Alright, I'll check the upstairs for a cassette player. Reeve, you check down here."

Five minutes later, Reno returned to his "friends", a small device in hand.

"Alright boys, let's get down to business here."

* * *

Vincent walked down a dark alley, unaffected by the fact that he could hardly see what was in front of him. It was daytime, and yet it was so incredibly dark down there. If there was any place to hide somebody, it was this place. Fortunately for him though, he had trained himself to see in the dark. Somewhat, at least. The scene didn't look pitch black to him, only gray. But he couldn't distinguish details in the gray light.

"Vinnie, I don't wanna go in there!" Yuffie complained from the alley-entrance. Vincent sighed; it was clearly an impatient sigh. The young ninja pouted before shouting out a new response. "Okay, I'm coming in, but if something grabs me, I'm going to blame you for the rest of my life!"

The ex-Turk chuckled. "Or at least until you find something else to be upset about."

Yuffie gasped. "Did you just laugh?! .Stars. It must be the end of the world! Or you've been replaced by a robot. PLEASE tell me it's not the second one, I hate robots!"

Vincent put a hand to his forehead. "Yuffie..."

The girl took the hint, stopping with the jokes. "Alright, I know. We're here for a reason. But how are we supposed to get any searching done here? I can't even see two steps in front of me! Where are you, anyway? I can't see you at all."

"Ahead of you a little bit. Keep walking."

She sighed. That monotone voice got annoying after a while; especially since she was trembling as she walked through that alley. Nobody could ever know that the great ninja Yuffie was actually afraid of the dark. It was a fear she had established when she was working with Vincent a while ago, when he was struggling with Chaos. And...well, she wasn't going into detail with that. Now she was deathly afraid of the dark.

Something reached out and grabbed her ankle. Yuffie screamed.

Vincent, hand on his gun, pulled it out and shot at the being that had latched onto Yuffie's ankle. The thing, whatever it was, released her quickly. The ninja tumbled forward on the ground, on her knees and crying now. The darkness was bad enough, but now that something had grabbed her, had broken her down. She was so, so afraid.

"Yuffie?" Vincent called sharply. He had seen her fall, but he thought that her crying was because of pain.

"I want to get out of here!" Yuffie cried. "I-I can't stand to be in here anymore. Please, please just finish so we can leave."

Vincent approached the girl on the ground, careful not to step on her. He knelt down right in front of her so he could see her face, and she could see his, but not as clearly. "There's no trace of anything back here; we can leave now. That is, if you can stand."

Yuffie swallowed hard, nodding faintly. "R-right." She put one hand on the ground to push herself up, but she felt wobbly both because of fear and a faint pain. Vincent's hand found hers, which was absolutely stunning. But at the same time, it was greatly appreciated. Yuffie didn't care anymore what he thought of her; he had put up with her enough already, so he wasn't going to leave her now. She leaned into him lightly and let him lead her out of the alley.

It was such a relief to see the light coming again. Yuffie nearly jumped for joy when they reached the street again, sunlight pouring over them. But the pain in her ankle stopped her from making any unnecessary movements.

"Yuffie, let me see it." The wound, of course. Yuffie nodded and leaned against the building so she could take the weight off of it. She looked down at it while Vincent inspected it, taking in a sharp breath. It was bloody.

"What...?"

"A snake bite," Vincent muttered. "Must have been hiding in a trash can."

"Why didn't it go for you?"

A small smirk appeared on his lips. "I doubt he'd be much of a match for my shoes." Yuffie laughed, the fear taking a step back. But she was still trembling enough for Vincent to visibly notice it.

"Yuffie," he said seriously. Then he stayed silent, unsure of exactly what to say.

Yuffie laughed awkwardly. "Sorry." She brought up a hand to wipe away a tear while Vincent was busy. However, he noticed the action.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, not too much."

Vincent was quiet again. "Are you trembling because...." he trailed off, hoping Yuffie would fill in the blank. She didn't. "....because of what happened last time you were in the dark?" Yuffie met his eyes, a small glimmer of fear reappearing in hers. His, however, were actually showing a bit of understanding. So Yuffie nodded, making his expression soften a little more.

He refocused on the wound, which was still bleeding a small amount. "There's a medical clinic a block away. Let's go take care of this."

* * *

"Hair color?" Cloud inquired, staring down at his notepad. He and Tifa had been at this for nearly an hour, and yet they still hardly had any information that would help. Unfortunately, these men were too good at hiding their identities.

Tifa sighed for the tenth time. "I don't know, Cloud, alright? They had on ski masks. It completely covered their heads."

"There wasn't any hair trailing out the back?"

"No," she said tensely.

Now it was Cloud's turn to sigh. "We should take a break."

"And what? Sit by, drinking coffee while Marlene is scared to death? I don't think so."

"Tifa, we've already taken all the steps we can here. We need a lead before we can get anything done."

"And I'm trying to get you that lead!" she cried angrily. "Keep asking me things; there has to be something we can follow up on. Anything!"

Cloud shook his head. "Tifa, you need to take a breather," he said calmly. "Your emotions are getting the better of you."

Tifa curled her hand into a fist. How dare he come in and say that to her?! She was the one there when Marlene was taken. She was the one who was too weak to stop it from happening. And she was the one who would feel the guilt if Marlene wasn't returned safely.

"You know what? I do need a break. I'm going for a walk." She abruptly rose to her feet, heading toward the doorway. Cloud's chair moved as well; he must have wanted to come with. She stopped at the door, not turning around. "And I'm going alone." The girl exited the conference room, leaving a stunned and confused Cloud behind.

_He has some nerve, _she thought, steaming on the inside. She kept walking in case he followed. Now **that** would take nerve. Honestly, she didn't think he had it in him. He may have fought off Sephiroth twice, but he was really a coward. Not when it came to a fight, but when it came to life. He once had the world. Everyone cared for him. Then he pushed them away.

When he was suffering from geostigma, everyone still stood behind him. What did he do? He ran. He ran and didn't turn back. Until now, over a year later.

Tifa slid out a door and hurried over to a park bench along the side of the building. She plopped herself down, not sitting in a lady-like fashion. Too distressed to care, she wrapped her arms around her legs and curled up, tears falling as she reflected on everything.

She had been in the airship, staring down at Cloud as he stood on the top of the building. Thank goodness; he was victorious. Sephiroth was gone at last, as was his geostigma. Tifa didn't know how she knew. Maybe it was just the peace she saw on his face. Whatever the case, she knew it was the truth.

Then the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the air. She blinked and refocused on Cloud, but he was already charging at something. Or two someones. Two men in black. The materia as glowing in their arms, showing their evil intent. Tifa gasped sharply when the whole area was engulfed in fire, Cloud disappearing within the chaos. She screamed his name, then realized the truth. But no...she wasn't willing to accept the truth.

Cid, under her command, lowered the ship so she could get out. She ran over to the debris covered area, only to find Cloud's body. The trembling was so bad when she checked for a heartbeat that she couldn't accurately tell if he had one or not. But the look on his face told her that he didn't. She picked up his body and took it to the airship. Then she ordered Cid to take them to the church. Why, she didn't know. But miracles always seemed to happen there. She knew something great could happen again. Or at least...she hoped so. She desperately hoped so.

And something miraculous did happen. Cloud was brought back to life. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. And it looked as if Cloud smiled at her, but now, looking back, she doubt it was at her. Because the next day, he left on a delivery and never came back. And that was that. He left his cell phone behind. He took all his swords and materia, and of course, Fenrir. Then he was gone.

Over the next year, he never made contact with anyone. Not Barret, not the kids, not her. She eventually stopped hoping he would come home. She moved on with her life, developing a relationship with Rude. But she was still broken. Broken more than anyone could understand.

Why was she broken?

Because she couldn't run to any of her friends with this problem.

Because, though she wouldn't admit it, she wasn't invincible.

Because Marlene, the little girl who stole a part of her heart, was taken and she couldn't do a thing.

Because the man who stole the other half wouldn't give it back. Tifa kept trying to take it back, trying to lose whatever she felt for him. But she couldn't. She could never forget Cloud.

But she couldn't forget what he did to her either. A fight was raging in her mind, making her question her sanity. She cried harder and tuned out the voices, not caring what they had to say at that moment. Nothing mattered but recovering what she had lost.


	6. Chapter 5: Working Together

**A/N: Hey guys, it feels like it's been a while since I updated. =/. But here's a new chapter and a proposition. I already have the next four chapters written. But I'm spreading out the times between posts hoping for new readers. Yes, that's selfish. No, I'm not changing my selfish ways. :3**

**However, I will change if I get more reviews. The more reviews I get, the sooner I post updates. Sound like a good deal? ;)**

**Disclaimer: Despite my wildest fantasies, I do not own Cloud nor any other FFVII characters. Sad day. ;(**

Chapter Five: Working Together

The air outside was cold, which wasn't surprising, considering that it was the autumn season. It was a wonder that it wasn't snowing with the temperatures feeling so frigid. And yet Tifa still sat outside on that bench for a long while, wearing a sweatshirt instead of the heavy coat she should have been.

Eventually, when her tears ran dry, she considered going back inside. There was work that needed to be done, and sitting out here feeling sorry wasn't going to help Marlene. Those two men in black...they would do terrible things to her. The one who carried her off didn't seem interested in hurting her, but the others seemed extremely violent.

A faint noise carried in the wind entered Tifa's ears. A cell phone? Yes, it was a familiar ring tone....it almost sounded like something she heard before, but at the same time, it wasn't a common tune. Or was it? Not anymore, but a long time ago it was.

Tifa froze. She knew who took Marlene.

* * *

"Vincent, I'm fine," Yuffie stated as they exited the medical clinic, giving the vampire a push to the side. "You don't have to help me walk just because I have a small limp."

Vincent sighed, again. That seemed to be a habit of his whenever he was with the younger girl. She was always trying to be so strong, but in the end, her act always looked ridiculous. She had far more than a limp; her ankle had nearly been sprained because of her reaction to the snake. But no, she wouldn't admit this. And she had already made him swear not to tell the others what happened. In the end, he had agreed to her terms just to get her quiet.

"And anyway, we can't search very well if you're half carrying me the entire time. Let's just look around and get this done."

"You can't walk around on that wound."

"Wound? Ha! You make it sound so serious, Vinnie," Yuffie commented with a laugh. Vincent didn't smile even a tiny bit. The look on his face made Yuffie somber. "Alright, what do you suggest we do? We can't just sit around and do nothing. We have a job to finish."

He paused, unsure or the next course of action. She had a good point, but walking around on that ankle would not only slow them down, but it could possibly damage it worse. Not that he cared....too much. Vincent looked around and saw that there was a restaurant nearby, along with several tables and benches.

"Let's sit down here and think of area's we can search while giving your ankle some rest."

* * *

Cloud Strife gave Tifa twenty minutes to herself before deciding that he needed to try and find her. After she had stormed out of the conference room, he had just stood there in awe. She was still the stubborn girl that he knew growing up, but she was bolder than she used to be. And it was clear she was hurt. Not physically (even though that was true too), but emotionally. Tifa wore her heart on her sleeve, whether she realized it or not.

The swordsman rounded the corner of the building outside and there she was, huddled up on the park bench. Although he didn't know exactly why she was distressed, his heart ached for her. And he could take a good guess as to what was bothering her.

He approached her and set a hand on her shoulder, immediately noticing how stiff she was. _Man, if we don't resolve this situation soon, she's going to break because of the stress, _he thought. He started to run a hand over her shoulder as a comforting gesture, but she pulled away. His bright blue eyes followed her movement as she set her feet on the ground and turned to face him.

"I know who took her," she said weakly.

"Who?

"Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo."

Cloud was stunned, to say that least. "That's not possible."

Tifa shook her head. "It is possible, and it's happening. The outfits, Loz's voice...it's all clear to me now. They're the ones that took Marlene."

Again, Cloud shook disagreed. "No. I killed Kadaj myself. And Yazoo and Loz were killed in the explosion after my battle against Sephiroth. There's no way they could be alive." Tifa wasn't convinced, so he kept speaking. "Loz told me that we'd go together, meaning we'd all die and go to the lifestream. And since I died that day, it only makes sense that they did too."

"Fine, so they died," Tifa snapped, frustrated. She knew the truth...she just had to convince Cloud of it. "But I recall you didn't kill Kadaj. He faded away. That's not necessarily death."

"Them what is it?"

Tifa sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "...I don't know. But he could have resurrected the other two. I don't know why they went for Marlene...but it **is **them. I _know_ it is.

He was just about to argue that a feeling wasn't enough evidence, but fortunately for both of them, Tifa's cell phone rang. She immediately jumped on the opportunity to escape the conversation and pulled it out, opening it up.

"Tifa here."

"Tifa," Reeve said on the other side of them line. "Is Cloud there with you?"

She turned her eyes upward towards the blonde man, who was staring at her intently. "Yes."

"There's something you both need to hear. Please put your phone on speaker." Tifa obeyed, pulling it away from her ear so they could both listen. "Teef, you know your neighbor Mrs. Smith, correct?"

Tifa nodded then answered with a yes. Mrs. Smith was an adorable elderly woman who would sometimes make pies for Tifa and the kids. She had always appreciated the woman's kindness and looked to her for advice and confidence.

"Well, she heard the commotion and wisely set up a tape recorder in her window. She recorded the second half of your confrontation, Tifa. If you two could listen in to it, maybe you could pick up something that we can't. Perhaps even the identity of the kidnappers."

"Let's hear it," Cloud said, speaking for the first time this whole conversation.

"Okay, listen closely for details we could have missed. Here it comes."

"_C-coward," _Tifa's voice said over the phone, sounding quite ragged and out of breath. _"Come fight me like a man". _The young woman immediately knew what was coming next, but she still flinched when she heard the next person speak.

"_Funny; I don't think you're in a position to order him around." The stairs creaked for a moment, then fell silent when the man apparently stood still. _This was the way that Tifa remembered it.

"_Let her go," she said tensely. _Hearing it now, Tifa knew that if a tone of voice could kill somebody, all three of those men would have died at that moment. The rage in her voice was so heavy that it startled her.

The sound of a gun going off on the other side of the phone made both her and Cloud jump. Tifa almost dropped the phone just remembering the pain of that first bullet in her leg.

"_Try again, pretty lady. You're not going to win back the girl this way." _ Cloud stiffened beside Tifa at the name, although Tifa wasn't sure why. After all, he was the one who left her before...

"_Come fight me," Tifa said. _

"_Some other day. Let's get her out of here."_

"_**No!" **_The sound of running feet was surprisingly clear, then the grunts and impacts of the short brawl that occurred between Tifa and "Yazoo". Even more clear than that was the breaking of the glass cupboards and her impact against it. Tifa didn't look up to see Cloud's reaction to that.

"_I must say, I thought this fight would end differently than before. I'm a bit disappointed in you, Tifa."_

"_Shut up, this fight isn't over yet." _

"_Looks to me that it is."_

"_Well it isn't!" New sounds filled the room, along with what sounded like a cry. _

"_You'll pay! Your little girl will pay because you had to fight." _ Tifa's heart broke at the memory of that threat. Marlene...

"_Leave her out of this!" _There were more sounds of battle, including a gunshot and an incredibly strong punch that had sent her flying.

"_Looks like you're out of the game, Lockhart." _

Tifa clenched a fist at that line, turning her head the other direction. She hated that voice. She absolutely hated that they had successfully taken Marlene away from her. And she hated that Cloud was listening to this whole thing with her. She didn't look up at him for a long time, barely listening as the recording started finishing. Only when she heard the men leaving did she start tuning in again.

The sound of the blaring alarm startled her even though she, unlike Cloud, knew that it was coming. But even more than that, she was startled by the last thing that she said on that tape. The alarm was going off, but the noise wasn't channeled directly into the recording for some reason. But what she said next was.

"_Cloud..." _Tifa's eyes widened at that; she had nearly forgotten. Oh why had she allowed herself to say his name like that?! And here he was, standing right next to her.

Reeve turned off the recording and spoke into the phone again. "Did you two catch onto anything useful?" Tifa numbly realized that he didn't mention her last line. She thanked her stars for that bit of good fortune.

"Tifa told me she thought she knew who they were," Cloud said, also not bringing up the ending of the tape. But Tifa knew he wasn't going to ever let it go. "And hearing them now, I know who they are too. It is Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz."

"What? B-but how?"

"I don't know," Cloud admitted. "But that doesn't change reality. They're back, and they've taken Marlene."


	7. Chapter 6: Her Cry

**A/N: Alright guys, I decided to post this chapter early for a few reasons. I did get some reviews and subscriptions, so that's exciting. And Over 300 people have viewed this story this year. In my book, that's pretty good. (: **

**However, I do have to apologize for something. This chapter is pretty short. So who knows, I may feel guilty enough over that to post the next chapter soon too. But commenting would definitely help get chapters up quicker. ;)**

**Oh, and here's my disclaimer: I own none of the characters or anything related to FFVII. I mean, seriously, that's pretty obvious. Because if I did, Tifa and Cloud would have been together a long time ago. :3**

Chapter Six: Her Cry

"Tifa—wait!" Cloud shouted, chasing after the brown-haired girl he had grown up with. After finishing the conversation with Reeve, Tifa had just gotten up and left. Cloud knew why that was; at her weakest moment, she had whispered **his** name. And he needed to know why that was.

"Forget it Cloud," Tifa said, not even turning around as she spoke. "You had your chance. But you threw it away a long time ago."

"Tifa," he breathed, having finally caught up to her. He grabbed onto her arm, noticing that she physically winced when he did. But at least she had finally stopped walking away.

"Let me go."

"We have to talk about this."

"Nothing to talk about."

"Teef, you said **my** name when you were lying there wounded and bleeding. You didn't say Barret's name, or your boyfriend's."

"I don't have a boyfriend," Tifa muttered, looking towards the ground. This seemed to startle Cloud. She had no clue why, but he seemed absolutely stunned at that fact. _Can't you see that I'm still healing from the heartbreak you caused me? I can't love anyone right now because you're still holding onto a piece of my heart_. Tifa took in a wobbly breath. _Please, give it back..._

Cloud awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, a movement which Tifa noticed out of the corner of her eye. "You said my name," he repeated softly. "Please; that gives me the right to talk to you."

Tifa released another breath before slowly turning around to Cloud. He released her arm when he saw the look in her eyes; she wasn't going to run away this time.

"What do you want to know?" she asked quietly. There was only a hint of emotion in her voice; most likely because she didn't want to break down again, for a few reasons. First off, she didn't believe Cloud was worth it. He had betrayed her trust, so he shouldn't have the pleasure of seeing her cry. The other reasons were pretty much just because she wanted to be strong.

"Why did you say my name? Was it because...." Cloud didn't dare finish the sentence, not wanting to words in Tifa's mouth.

"Because I was hoping you'd keep your promise?" Tifa snapped.

Cloud was stunned at the bitterness in her voice. Stunned...and hurt. "Y-yeah," he managed, his timid blue eyes locking with Tifa's enraged brown orbs again.

She turned her head slightly, gazing down at the ground. "I don't know why I said your name," she confessed softly. "I guess...old habits die hard." Her phone began to ring in her pocket. However, she hesitated, unsure as to whether she really wanted to pick up or not.

"Tifa," Cloud pleaded. At that moment, she decided to answer it.

"I have to take this," she stated, removing the cell phone from her pocket before flipping it open. "Hello?"

"How do you like the game so far, Tifa?" Tifa gasped softly, successfully gaining Cloud's unwanted attention. She recognized that voice...Yazoo. He chuckled on the other side of the line. "Take two steps away from Cloud; this call is for your ears."

Tifa hesitated for one brief moment before obeying. Cloud appeared confused, but he didn't move towards her.

"What do you want?"

Yazoo laughed again. "Come now; don't sound so bitter. I know deep down inside you love this."

Tifa stiffened. "No. I don't."

"That's too bad, because my brothers and I are enjoying it very much."

_That's it,_ Tifa thought, gritting her teeth. She had enough of listening to this pointless babbling. "What do you want?!" she shouted into the phone.

"Yazoo, what're you doing?" another, softer voice, said over the line. "Quit fooling around and give me the phone." There was a shuffling noise on the other side as a new man came to the phone. "Let's get the game rolling, shall we? You have twenty minutes to get all your friends to the abandoned Shin-Ra warehouse near the outside of Midgar."

"That's impossible! They're nowhere near there."

"Ready?"

"Hey! Are you lis--"

"Go." He hung up. Tifa pulled away the phone, in shock. How in the world had they gotten her phone number? And why was she the center of this? None of it made sense....

"Tifa?" Cloud inquired, concern evident in his voice. Tifa shook her head, not answering. There was nothing to say, not to him. She started dialing Yuffie's number. "Tifa, what's going on?"

"No time to explain," she started. Yuffie picked up on the other side of the line, and before she could say more than hello, Tifa took control of the conversation. "Yuffie. You and Vincent need to get to the abandoned Shin-Ra building outside Midgar. Hurry." Before her friend could respond, Tifa hung up and was already dialing Barret's number. Cloud stupidly tried asking her again what was happening, only to be ignored by a rushed Tifa. Five minutes later, she had finished calling her friends and turned back to Cloud.

"We have fifteen minutes. Do you have Fenrir?"

"What-?"

"Do you?!" Tifa practically screamed, heart racing. She didn't have time to argue with him over this; if they weren't all there, Tifa had a feeling something terrible would happen. And it would probably happen to Marlene. She couldn't live with herself if that happened.

"Yes."

"Good. You know where we have to go."

Cloud nodded, still thoroughly confused but accepting of Tifa's demands. "It's parked right around the side of the building. Let's go."

* * *

Thirteen and half minutes, Tifa and Cloud pulled up at the building. Tifa released her grip on the bike (because she had held onto the bike itself, hardly touching Cloud as they rode there). She was extremely relieved to see that Cid, Barret, Reeve and Nanaki were there. But where were Vincent and Yuffie?!

Just as she got off the bike and scanned the area, she saw the two running up. She breathed a sigh of relief, nearly collapsing because of the release of tension. But she steadied her knees and stood still, feeling the gaze of all her friends resting on her.

"Tifa, is everything alright?" Reeve questioned as Yuffie and Vincent stopped right by the group, Yuffie panting and sweating. Vincent didn't look nearly as winded.

"I got a phone call...from Yazoo. Something about the game starting, and we had twenty minutes to get everyone here."

"Yazoo?!" Yuffie cried, shocked. "But—he—Cloud, didn't you--?"

"I know, Yuffie," Tifa answered before Cloud could. "But we--" she nodded to Cloud "—confirmed it. Kadaj and his gang are the ones who kidnapped Marlene."

Barret growled off to the side, but didn't say a word. So Cid took the opportunity to speak. "So then, why are we here?"

Tifa looked clueless, so Nanaki inserted his opinion. "Perhaps there is something waiting inside..." Everyone fell silent at that; Nanaki had a good hunch. After all, why else would they all be summoned here?

"Everyone have their weapons ready?" Cloud asked in a low voice. Everyone turned to him, instinctively looking at their weapons as well before nodding. "Anything could be in there; we have to be cautious." While he was saying this, Tifa was slipping on her gloves.

"Tifa..." Yuffie called softly. It was clear why she had said her friend's name; Tifa was still wounded, so it was likely Yuffie would tell her not to fight at all if the time came. Tifa ignored her completely and pulled on her second glove.

Cloud, apparently unaware of the exchange between Tifa and Yuffie, just grabbed his sword and stared at the door. "I'll go first," he volunteered. Nobody argued against him. Everyone was slipping back into their old positions quite naturally, with Cloud being the leader of them all. Tifa had to give him credit; he always was a good leader.

"Cid, open the door on three." Cid nodded and grabbed onto the handle of the big garage door.

"One..."

Tifa glared at the door, fist tightening. What was awaiting them on the other side? Was it Marlene? Or was it a trap? The second man on the phone, Kadaj, told her he was going to get the game rolling. Tifa had a feeling this was only the beginning.

"Two..."

This wasn't going to end that easily. But at the same time, Tifa didn't think this was a set-up to kill them all. If they all were pawns in the game (which apparently they were, having all been summoned there), then Kadaj couldn't just kill them off. Things weren't that simple.

"Three!"

It was only the beginning.


	8. Chapter 7: It Begins

**Here it is guys...another action packed chapter. And I mean it quite literally; there's a lot of action in this one. I just read over it again and remembered what a good chapter this was. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: None of the epicness of FFVII belongs to me. **

Chapter 7: It Begins

The moment Cloud shouted "three", Cid pushed up the huge garage door and rolled out of the way in case any gun shots were fired from the inside. There were no gunshots.

Vincent had his gun leveled so that he could fire it the moment he saw something move in there. Nothing was moving.

Tifa took in a breath, confused but not letting her defense down. Okay, so nothing was attacking them yet. But surely they knew Tifa had shown up with her friends. An overwhelming silence surrounded them, the wind blowing in a way that it would pick up any noises that came from nearby areas.

Just like there were no gunshots or movement, there was no noise.

"Slowly," Cloud whispered cautiously, sword raised as he took a few steps toward the building. He silently slipped inside and saw the entire warehouse in one glance. Even in the rafters above them, there was nothing there. "Clear," he called to the others, allowing his sword to fall to his side. "This place is empty."

Tifa came up by his side and stood beside him. "Except for that," she said, pointing to the very center of the building. A TV and VCR system. Without thought or hesitation, she approached it. Clearly there was no threat here; they were summoned to this place to see the contents of the tape.

And surprisingly, nobody made a move to stop Tifa. They either recognized what she did, that there was no threat, or they realized she could defend herself if something did pop out and they'd be there to back her up. However, neither of those were Cloud's thoughts. He was still greatly concerned, and though his sword was at his side, he was ready to attack anything that startled him.

Tifa pushed in the tape and turned on the TV, an image appearing just milliseconds later. A man appeared on screen, but he appeared differently than he had when Tifa had last seen him. There was no mask this time. She gritted her teeth and took a few steps away from the screen, her friends filling in around her to watch the movie as well.

"Hello, all," Kadaj said, smiling faintly. "Yes, it's me. But I'm sure you figured that out before you came to this warehouse. And if not, you guys are much slower than I thought and you should be ashamed of yourselves for your stupidity."

Cid started swearing, but he was quickly shushed by all his friends as the video continued.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering why we summoned you to this place. Allow me to explain myself in ways that ever Barret can understand." Now it was Barret's turn to curse, and curse he did. But after a few moments, Kadaj continued and he stopped so they could hear him clearly.

"We're all going to play a game. As the game goes on, the rules will change slightly. But one rule will always remain the same: My words are law. Disobey and my brothers and I will cause all sorts of trouble throughout the city."

_Great,_ Tifa though. _But what about Marlene?_ _You don't need her to get us to stop you from destroying lives again..._

"You need not worry about the girl," Kadaj said on the television screen. "I have no intention of hurting her unless you disobey the rules of the game or do not fulfill your part of this." The madman chuckled. "I hope you all understand."

Cloud nodded wordlessly, not pleased with the circumstances at all. Alright, so Marlene wasn't going to be hurt without cause. And he would be one of the first to step up for her defense in this...game.

"Now..." Kadaj started before pausing completely. "Loz, come. It is your turn."

Kadaj applauded for his brother as he came on screen, making Yuffie tisk in disgust. It seemed as if everyone in that room wanted to smash the television at that moment, but they knew that wasn't an option.

"Alright, here's how it works," the man explained with a smirk. "We're going to give you a riddle or a set of instructions. Fail to solve the riddle or follow the instructions and I can guarantee something terrible will happen. Here's the first riddle:

"What's black and white and read all over?"

There was a moment of silence, both on the video and in the room. But Loz ruined that and suddenly walked off, Kadaj reappearing on the screen. "You have one hour to solve the riddle and get to the destination we're referring to. Any questions boys and girls?" Cloud growled softly, Tifa the only one to notice that. She didn't make any signs to show that she heard that.

"Good. Oh, and this video will self destruct in Five...four...three..."

While the countdown was going on, everyone was sprinting to the exit. However, Tifa and Cloud were the ones in the very back. In fact, everyone running forward at the same time had pushed them towards the rear.

_We're not going to make it out!_ Tifa thought desperately, hearing Kadaj say the number two. And if she knew anything about Kadaj and his brothers, it was this: they liked big explosions.

"One."

Tifa braced herself for an explosion, but instead of feeling the impact or hearing a large boom, she felt herself being pulled behind one of the support beams near the door. And Cloud was holding her tight against it, her heart nearly bursting at the fact that he was protecting her. Tifa's eyes widened at the fact, but they didn't stay opened fully for long. Thinking better of herself, she tightly closed them and allowed her forehead to rest against Cloud's chest, which was already right in front of her. Somehow, this reminded her of a time a while ago...

_Wait, where's the boom? _

A chuckling came from the other side of the room, echoing throughout the large warehouse. Tifa wanted to see who it was, but really, she didn't need to. She recognized that laugh. Kadaj.

Cloud finally released her and stepped to the side, glaring at the television from afar. Tifa, blushing furiously, joined him and the rest of the crew trickled back into the building.

"I was just kidding," Kadaj informed them, a smile so wide still on his face. Tifa would have smacked that smile right off his face if he was there for real. But he wasn't, so she couldn't. "Really, you guys believe that stuff actually exists? That's only in movies!" He laughed again, infuriating all the AVALANCHE members.

"But seriously, now this is going to self destruct. There's a bomb behind the television set. And since you're all probably by the door this time, you have three seconds. Three..."

"He's serious this time," Nanaki said. "I can smell the fumes of a bomb now."

"Everybody out!" Barret cried, the big burly man making it out the door first. The others quickly followed him out, not questioning Nanaki or disobeying Barret's cry. The threat was real enough; and so they would treat it as being real.

Cid and Reeve closed the door just as Kadaj was saying the number one. Then they all moved as far away as they could in one second and waited.

_Kaboom! _

The entire building erupted in a ball of fire, forcing them to take a few steps. Tifa gasped in shock and instinctively took a few steps back. Right into Cloud. She felt his hand on her shoulder for support (she wasn't sure if it was for physical or emotional support), but she felt some gentleness behind it. She allowed his hand to remain there.

After a few moments, Tifa heard noise over the roaring fire. It was Reeve, telling them all something about a team coming to put out the fire. However, she was in too much of a daze to respond. Only Cloud lightly shaking her brought her back.

"The riddle," she said without thought. She had completely forgotten.

"We have fifty-five minutes," Cid informed them after checking the time on his phone. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I got the answer to this thing."

Nanaki nodded. "This riddle is very old, and I've heard it many times. The answer is--"

"A newspaper!" Yuffie said excitedly, not meaning to interrupt Nanaki. She had just gotten so excited. Normally, she felt as if she were a burden to the team. Sometimes, she wasn't completely sure she had their trust. But now, now that she had contributed something, she felt as if she weren't such a handful. However, Vincent's almost silent sigh brought back a feeling of hurt.

"Okay, so what does it mean?" Cloud wondered aloud.

"He said to figure out what it means the go where it implies," said Vincent. "Perhaps it is referring to a media building..."

"_The Midgar Times_," Tifa interrupted, the idea striking her right between the eyes. "It's the largest newspaper publishing building in this area. He wouldn't send us to Gongaga or something when we only have an hour."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Cid, take a group in the airship. Tifa and I will go on Fenrir; we can probably get there quicker, since you'll need a place to land."

"Got it. Everybody on!" he shouted, running towards the ship, which was parked thirty feet away in an open field. As everyone followed him, Yuffie tailed behind, giving Tifa a concerned look. Did she really want to go with Cloud or did she want Yuffie to take her place? But no, Tifa's soft nod told her that things were alright. The ninja gave her a small smile before sprinting to catch up to the others.

Though he noticed the small interaction between Yuffie and Tifa, Cloud didn't have time to ask questions. He released Tifa's shoulder and lightly grabbed her arm, starting off slow then hurrying them both over to Fenrir. The swordsman was extremely relieved when she got herself onto the bike, finally coming out of her foggy state of mind. The sadness he felt for her was so great; she didn't deserve to go through this, and she certainly didn't deserve to be near the center of it all. It was then and there that Cloud made a vow: he was going to make this all go away as quickly as possible then patch up the broken relationship between himself and Tifa.

They sped off toward the city.

* * *

"This is it!" Tifa shouted over the roar of Fenrir. Cloud slowed down the bike right in front of a huge skyscraper. Both of them hurried off the bike.

The building was an unfamiliar one to Tifa; she had only been there one time, and that was to see if she could get an ad in the paper. After hearing the price, she had simply walked away from it and never returned to this place. But she remembered enough to know where the main office was.

Something was going to happen here unless they stopped it. Somehow, Tifa just knew that this wasn't going to lead them to another place. If they failed here, a lot of people would be affected by it.

"We don't have time to wait," Cloud said anxiously, looking around for Cid's huge ship. "We have to find the editor in chief and tell him that this building isn't safe." Tifa nodded; apparently Cloud was thinking along the same lines she was. Without a word, she ran into the building. Cloud followed close behind, though she hardly noticed this.

_The elevator or stairs? No; the elevator will take too long. There can't be __**that**__ many stairs..._she thought.

"Divide and conquer?" Cloud asked as they ran toward the stairs.

Tifa shook her head. "No, we need to stick together. Once we get to the boss it'll take some convincing to get him to evacuate the building."

"You know this guy?" Cloud inquired, surprised that she could make an assumption that easily.

"Met him once," she said simply as she ran up the third flight of stairs. "He came off as a pretty stubborn guy."

The blonde man nodded, lagging a little bit behind Tifa. He may have been stronger physically, but Tifa was much more nimble and quick. Ah, well, that was a bit off subject. He needed to focus on what to do next; this place was probably on a time bomb or something like that. And it was up to them to stop it, considering the others hadn't landed or tried to contact them. Or both.

"He's on the eleventh floor," Tifa was saying. Cloud grunted his answer as they came up on floor number six. Over half way there...

"How much time do we have?"

Tifa shook her head, a motion Cloud barely saw as she rounded a corner. "I don't know...I'm guessing fifteen minutes. Just run."

The next floors flew by. Or rather, it felt as if they flew over the stairs. Cloud was actually surprised at how Tifa hadn't lost any of her speed over the years. Or her logic. He had always been told that he was a natural born leader because of his ability to use logic in tense situations. But really, Tifa was just a good a leader as he was; they both were wired that way.

Tifa crashed through one of the doors, straightening her hair before walking quickly through an office area. Cloud, now a few seconds behind her, was just finishing up the last set of stairs as she entered the office area. "Derek," she said, standing in front of a man sitting at his desk.

"Tifa!" the man said, rising to his feet in surprise. "Well, I'm surprised to see you again. I didn't think you would return after our last encounter," he chuckled. "So tell me, have you considered my offer?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Just as he was saying that last question, Cloud entered the room and stood behind Tifa. She was surprised when she felt him press up against her back, almost as if he were trying to get past her. And for some reason...he just seemed angry. He wasn't gentle like he had been earlier. But then again, who was she to judge?

Instead of answering any of the questions in her head, she scoffed. "Not now, Derek. This building is going to be the center of an attack."

That made Derek somber. "Oh? What kind of an attack?"

Cloud shook his head. "We don't know."

"But you have to evacuate the building."

The editor laughed again. "Come now; this building has great security. We're not in danger."

Tifa took in a breath. "What if it's a bomb?"

Derek, the king of mood swings, frowned. "Evacuating will slow production; it'll cost me quite a bit of money."

"If you don't, it'll cost you lives!" she cried. "Their blood will be on your hands." Cloud remained silent behind her.

"...alright, I'll do it. On one condition..."

"What is it?"

"If you're wrong, we go out on a date," he said with a smirk.

Tifa gritted her teeth, clenching her hand into a light fist. "Fine," she said, exasperated. Cloud started to protest behind her, but she elbowed him to silence him. "Just make the call."

Derek nodded, punched in a few numbers on his desk phone, then spoke into his headpiece. "Attention all personnel; I am ordering an evacuation that must be complete in--"

"Less than ten minutes."

"—five minutes. Take only what is absolutely necessary and get as far away from the building as you can. Thank you." He hung up the phone. "Will that suffice?"

Tifa nodded. "You better get out of here."

"What about you? I can't have a date with a dead woman."

She sighed. "Just leave, Derek. I'm going to try and stop this thing from even hitting."

Derek was just about to complain again, but Cloud gave him a nasty glare that immediately silence him. He slipped past them through the door and exited the room. Just as he left, Tifa's phone rang. She opened it without hesitation.

"Tifa," Cid said, speaking loudly over the sounds of the airship. "I can't land anywhere near here, but I have a device that's scanning the whole building for radio-active material. It looks like something's up on the tenth floor."

"Tenth floor, got it," she hung up the phone. Cloud was already running toward the stairs. _At least he didn't say the first floor, _she thought in relief. _Then we would be in big trouble._

"I see something!" Cloud exclaimed, running through the door onto the tenth floor. Tifa was right behind him, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Before she could question his judgment, he was going across the room and kneeling in the nearest corner. He moved aside some cabinets, and sure enough, there was the bomb. Tifa held her breath and stood in the door, stunned. This threat was all too real.

"Tifa?"

"Mm?" she mumbled, snapping of her thoughts and coming over to join Cloud. The both sat there for a few moments until she found the words she was searching for. "I don't know how to disarm a bomb."

"Neither do I," he confessed. "...Just...cut a wire or something?" She shrugged. "Right," he mumbled, turning back to the bomb. This wasn't just some game; there were lives at stake, including their own.

Tifa suddenly pulled out her phone. "Five minutes."

Cloud stiffened. "Call Cid; he may know what to do." Tifa nodded and dialed the number. Cid answered the first ring and she started to explain the situation. Cloud noticed that her voice was shaking, as was her hand. She was so scared at that moment. That, or she was nervous. Perhaps it was a combination of the two."

"Cut the purple wire," she said to Cloud. He nodded and pulled out a pocket knife. It was a bit bizarre, carrying around something so small when his sword was so humongous. Oh well, it didn't matter. He cut the wire. The bomb began to crackle. Feeling as if this were a bad sign, he backed away.

"Now the yellow. Then black."

Cloud controlled his nerves and leaned forward, cutting both of the wires in the specified order. The bomb fell silent, and then all the lights on it went out. He heaved a sigh of relief, as did Tifa. It was over.

For now. Tifa was sure that Kadaj and his gang would cause more mayhem in the near future.


	9. Chapter 8: It's Complicated

**Hey guys. Wow, I'm posting this chapter within a week of the last one! What's the occasion, you ask? I'll tell you. I've been in a good mood lately and have been writing more of this fic. So I have up to chapter 12 written, and as soon as I post this, I'm gonna work on 13. Great, right??? I thought so.**

**Anywho, you'll be pleased to know it's a pretty long chapter. :) And it's got some more Cloti and I've written a bit on Yuffentine. **

**Enjoy this awesomess, none of which I own. Nor will I ever own. **

Chapter 8: It's Complicated

Tifa walked out of the building only to see that police were surrounding the area. All the office people were close by, talking amongst themselves about what the trouble was. However, the very first thing Tifa noticed was Derek standing right along the front line. And he didn't look pleased--not one bit.

"Yo! I thought there was gonna be an explosion?" he shouted to her. He would have crossed the police line, but then he knew that he'd be in big legal trouble. Maybe he was furious inside, but he couldn't let it show. This place wasn't only surrounded by his reporters; there were ones from other stations looking for a good story. And if he flipped out, they would get their story. "Where is it?"

Tifa gritted her teeth, not responding to his hounding. She approached him and stopped right in front of him, holding his hard gaze with a glare of her own.

"Well?" he asked, grabbing a hold of her arm roughly. "Where's this bomb?"

She tore her arm away, glass cuts throbbing. Her stern facial expression, however, didn't betray any hint of pain. "Tenth floor. It's already been disarmed." She nodded to the police. "Tell them it's safe to go in and get rid of it." Tifa walked past him, "accidentally" hitting his shoulder with hers.

"Hey...there wasn't an attack!" he called after her. "Does this mean we get our date?" She didn't even miss a step. "Hey!" He cried out in anger. "Don't you dare ignore me!! **Nobody** ignores me!" Suddenly he was pushed backwards, into the side of a large blue police van. His eyes widened when he looked down and saw a fist grabbing his shirt. Then he saw who the fist belong to: Cloud Strife.

"You shouldn't have touched her," he growled protectively. Derek started to sweat, eyes darting around the scene. There was nobody there to help him; the police just went inside the building!

"L-look, I'm sorry!"

"I don't think you are," he said evenly. Derek gulped hard, eyes starting to fill with panic. Cloud stared at him for a moment before releasing him, but not without giving him one last push into the van. "Next time you touch her, you deal with me."

Leaving Derek there whimpering and panting for mercy, Cloud walked away. Tifa was only a few steps ahead; she had heard everything that had happened. She slowed down to allow Cloud to catch up with her.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered in his ear. Her tone was completely unreadable to Cloud, so he just shrugged.

"He shouldn't have been talking to you like that," he replied softly. "I couldn't just stand by and let it happen anymore." He paused. "Are you mad?"

Tifa exhaled a light breath, shaking her head. "No," she said quietly. "I--"

"You guys did it!" Yuffie squealed, running towards them. Tifa nearly collapsed when Yuffie attempted to tackle her in an embrace.

"Yuffie," Vincent's cold voice said, bringing a calming effect to the young ninja. Yuffie slowly pulled away slowly, her expression appearing hurt. Tifa gave her a light pat on the shoulder and a faint smile; she understood where she was coming from. Yuffie always had treated Vincent like a good friend, but he hardly ever showed any of that companionship to her. It was understandable that she was hurt by his angry-sounding tone.

The girl weakly smiled back at Tifa and moved to the side, eyes pointed downward. Tifa glanced over at Vincent, and if she wasn't mistaken, it looked as if he regretted the action he took. But Tifa wasn't one to judge the situation; this was between him and Yuffie.

"Police confirm that the bomb was real and that it has been diffused," Reeve informed them, joining the group of AVALANCHE. By now, everyone had formed a circle to talk and discuss....well, discuss whatever needed to be discussed.

"They're not trying to blame us for it, are they?" Cid inquired. Everyone turned to give him a strange look. "Well," he mumbled, "it's happened before..."

Reeve shook his head. "No, they know that this was an attack from an outside source."

They all sighed in relief; okay, so that was one less thing to worry about. But that didn't change the facts: Kadaj had somehow gotten a bomb into a busy building without being noticed. His threats were all too real to all of them, especially Tifa and Barret, who were extremely close to Marlene.

Or so Tifa thought. In reality, Cloud was also affected by this. He had a bond with Marlene, even if nobody else saw it. One special moment where she connected with him and his desire to cure Denzel's geostigma brought forth that unique bond. And now, no matter what, he was going to get her back.

As if cued by the silence, Tifa's phone rang. Everyone around her appeared confused, but she and Cloud knew who it must have been. She answered the phone.

"Well done, Tifa. You all accomplished your mission in the knick of time. How does that feel?" Yazoo asked.

Tifa remained silent.

"Anyway, perhaps that first riddle was too easy for you all. Shall we take things up a notch?"

"What do you want?" she hissed into the phone. That must have been the tenth time she asked that question that day.

"Oh good, you can talk," he replied, clearly amused. Tifa felt her face redden in fury. "I'll tell you what, because you've been a good player this whole time, we'll change the way the game works. But only for this round, got it, beautiful?"

Tifa gritted her teeth, the group staring at her in awe; they hadn't seen her this mad in a long time. "Fine. What do we do?"

"You have three hours to get to the Sleeping Forest. Be well prepared."

"Wait, what--"

But Yazoo had already hung up the phone. Tifa took her cell phone away from her ear and stared at it, steaming on the inside.

"Tifa?" Cid pressured. Cloud wanted to smack him for his harsh tone of voice.

She shut her eyes tightly and exhaled a breath before answering. "Three hours to get to the Sleeping Forest." The young woman looked up at her friends. "We need to be well equipped."

Nanaki stepped forward. "By my estimations, it should only take us two and a half hours to get there by airship." Barret mumbled his agreement. "Still, we should leave right away. We don't know what will be awaiting us there."

Cloud turned to Cid. "Can I get Fenrir on that thing?"

"Of course," the pilot answered gruffly. "It has a ramp and a storing room for vehicles."

"Okay," Cloud nodded. "Let's get going."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way to the Sleeping Forest. Tifa was filled with a sense of Déjà vu as they flew as quickly as they could toward their destination. It was exactly as it had been years ago when they were chasing Sephiroth. Everyone in the group even stood in the same places as they did back then!

Tifa, however, had left the group to be on her own. And after she had accidently broken the tension of the group, they moved to different locations to get the rest they needed. Now she sat in a bedroom in the back of the airship, numbly looking out a rear window and seeing the mountains they flew over.

_Is that battle ever going to be over?_ she wondered, exactly as she had years ago. _I thought I had abandoned this style of life a long time ago. But I suppose that forgetting my old life isn't easy. For so long...I tried to forget anything that caused me pain. That was wrong, I know. Those things made me who I am today. And even though I may be broken, I'm still me. And nothing's gonna change that. _

She sighed and slid down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. This whole process was exhausting. There was only one thing in the world that she wanted at that moment, and that was to have Marlene back in her arms.

Alright, so maybe there was something else she wanted. In a strange way, she wanted to trust Cloud again. He had betrayed her trust when he disappeared, but now that he was back, she felt the attraction she had felt towards him for so many years. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the feeling to disappear.

But maybe that was a good thing. After all, it was good to have somebody to lean on when you weren't strong enough to stand alone. Could Cloud be that support for her? Or would he go back to his old habits and betray them all again?

"Teef?" a male voice asked. Tifa immediately knew who it was.

"Hi Barret," she said softly, turning her head toward the burly man in the doorway.

"You doin' awight?"

She nodded faintly. "As good as can be expected, I suppose."

He nodded a set a hand on her shoulder. "I'm gonna go get some rest; you should get some too." She nodded once more, her eyes betraying the tiredness she felt physically and emotionally. Barret offered her a weak smile before exiting the room, leaving her alone again.

* * *

Yuffie sat in a bedroom of her own, not resting at all. Actually, she was just trying to keep her lunch down. Airsickness was something that she had never grown out of, and unfortunately for her, she doubted that she ever would lose that weakness.

Sighing, she curled up in her bed, knees brought up to her chest. Her stomach wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. There were so many things on her mind at that time...Tifa and Cloud...Marlene...and Vincent.

Vincent Valentine...what an interesting character he was. He didn't show it much, but deep down inside, Yuffie knew he had a good heart. His genuine concern for others was touching. Not only had he shown that when she injured her ankle, but he had also shown it when they were working together just a few months ago. _Man, what changed? _Yuffie wondered. _I thought we were on the same page for a while, and now he pretty much just snaps at me. I may have immature moments, but seriously, I don't deserve the harsh treatment he's been giving me...right?_

There was a knock on the metal door.

"Come in," she managed, sitting up slowly in an attempt not to lose any of the food she had kept down thus far. The door opened slowly, almost as if the person on the other side was shy. Just by that, she knew who was there.

Vincent Valentine entered the room.

"Oh, hi Vinnie," Yuffie greeted, grabbing her stomach more tightly. "What brings you to this part of the ship?

Dead silence.

"Vinnie?"

"......"

"If you have something to say, you can just say it," she pushed, sensing that this conversation would go nowhere unless she did whatever was necessary to get him to talk.

"I...wanted to apologize...."

Yuffie sat up more on her bed, the man successfully gaining her full attention. She wanted to ask exactly what he was sorry for, but at the same time, she wanted him to do this on his own. Revenge? No, that wasn't really it. It was something else that compelled her to remain silent...something she couldn't explain.

"...You often seem offended by my tone of voice when speaking to you, and I apologize for it," he was saying, his voice showing nothing but formality. "I mean nothing by it."

Again, the room fell silent. Yuffie decided to take that as an opportunity to speak. "Okay."

"Alright?"

"Okay."

"You forgive me?"

"Okay."

"......"

"........."

"....I guess I'll see you later," he said, excusing himself in a hurry. Yuffie could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink. The door shut with a thud, immediately reminding Yuffie of her airsickness. She groaned dramatically and lay back down in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why did life have to be so complicated?

* * *

The airship ride was just dragging on and on. Most people with common sense were lying in beds getting rest while they had the chance. Tifa, however, couldn't sleep despite the fact that she was now sitting on a bed. Nor did she really want to fall asleep. If she had a say in the matter, she wasn't going to sleep until they found Marlene. It sounded foolish, but that was the way her mind was set.

Only another hour and then they'd be landing near the Sleeping Forest. She was ready for it already; in her boredom, she had properly equipped all of her materia in the proper slots. Was she going to need them? She had no clue. But Yazoo said to be prepared, and so she was.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, making her jump a little bit. She hesitated, then it clicked that when somebody knocked, you were supposed to answer.

"Come in," she said, just loud enough for the person outside to hear her. Cloud Strife entered the room. Tifa eyed him carefully, confused as to why he was coming in to her room.

"I'm surprised you're still up," he confessed awkwardly, shutting the door behind him.

Tifa shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh."

Awkward silence hung in the air between them. It was at this moment that Tifa really started to question why he was with her. Sure, she didn't hate him anymore, but she was still hurt. However, she wouldn't admit to this; her concern for Marlene and the severity of the situation they were in kept that from happening. Perhaps someday they would speak of their troubles. But not today.

"How are you doing?" Cloud asked softly, breaking through her train of thought. The sincerity in his voice threw Tifa off guard. Unable to find words, she just shrugged again. "Would you like to talk about it?" She shrugged again. Deep down inside, she started to feel bad for not giving him real answers.

The blonde haired man sat down next to her on the bed, close enough that Tifa could reach out and touch him but far away enough to give her space. He played this situation very well.

"I'm worried about her," Tifa suddenly whispered, tears she had thought gone reappearing in her eyes. "What if she's hurt? What if we never get her back? What if we do and things are never going to be the same?"

Cloud gently shushed her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "We can't worry about that," he started quietly. "First, we'll bring her home and give her all the love we can. Things will be alright," he promised. "Trust me, they will be."

"How do you know?" she asked, whispering again. She felt like such a child at that moment, but she didn't care.

"Because I'll make things alright," he said after a small moment of hesitation. "I'm not leaving until we get her back. Or after we get her back. I want to be with her...and Denzel...and you."

Tifa looked up, thoroughly confused. "Me?"

He nodded. "Tifa, I--"

"Everyone hurry to the front deck; we're about to land," Cid called over the loudspeakers. "And be quick about it."

The young barmaid bit her lip and turned away from Cloud. Apparently talking wasn't going to be easy, since each time they got interrupted. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"We'll talk later?" she half-asked, half-requested as she rose to her feet.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, later."


	10. Chapter 9: Breakdown

**Hey guys, how's it goin? I'm doin fine, thanks for asking. Here's chapter 9, and it's really full of action. Now I'm not just posting this on a random date. I'm posting this now so that you can expect chapter ten within two weeks. You see, that chapter is pretty romantic, and since Valentine's Day is coming up…**

**Well, you get the idea. Here's chapter nine.**

**Oh, and comments would be super terrific. Seriously people, post stuff! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned this, but I don't. Only the story, not the characters or anything belonging to FFVII or Flyleaf.**

Chapter 9: Breakdown

"Cid, what's going on?" Cloud questioned, approaching the pilot. Truth be told, he was a bit angry. He had just been about to tell Tifa something important, but then, of course, Cid had to interrupt it with an urgent call over the speakers. He hoped it was worth the trouble of leaving Tifa hanging.

"Look down."

The swordsman wandered to the front of the airship and looked out the front window. "Wow," he breathed. A big, red x was painted on the ground. Apparently this was where they were supposed to land. "...this is the right continent, right?" he asked. The ride had been pretty quick, perhaps this was all a mistake.

"What?! ^&#! of course this is the !*#&*& right continent!" Cid steamed, screaming out more obscenities. Cloud wisely backed away from the steaming pilot and over to the rest of his friends, who had been trickling into the room while he had been speaking to Cid.

"We're about to land," he informed them. "Is everyone prepared? We don't know what's down there." A few of them instinctively touched their weapons, but the most movement came from Tifa, who was casually putting on her leather gloves. He felt his heart break; he didn't want her to have to fight.

At that very moment, Tifa's phone rang. Everyone stiffened as she answered it.

"Hello?" Pause. "What? No--" Another pause; apparently she was interrupted. All the AVALANCHE members stared at her, trying to read her facial expression. Cloud noticed that she looked a bit frightened. She released a breath slowly before speaking again. "Vincent, Yuffie, myself and Cloud." The conversation ended as abruptly as it started as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Tifa?" Yuffie asked, breaking through the heavy air.

"Only four of us can go on from this point," she said. "I chose the four of us--" she nodded to Vincent, Yuffie and Cloud, "—because we all have different strengths to off the group. Vincent and Yuffie are great at observing details; Cloud is strong; and I wasn't about to be left behind."

"Any idea what's going to happen?" Barret asked, sounding extremely nervous at the fact he was being left behind.

Tifa shook her head. "No. But we have twenty minutes to land and get to a specified location in the woods."

Reeve nodded formally. "Then let's get down to business. Cid, let's land this airship."

* * *

"The pawns play their parts well," Kadaj said to his brothers, a smile appearing on his face. Indeed, the game was playing out just as they had hoped it would. And although this next stage would determine a lot, things were looking alright.

"This is a lot of fun," Loz said excitedly, jumping out of his seat. The metal chair crumpled to the ground when he accidentally hit it. His smile faded as he grumpily muttered his next sentence. "But why can't we come up with a better hide-out?"

"In due time, Loz," Yazoo said, entering the barren room through a doorway. He had just been in checking on Marlene, who was handcuffed to a bed but otherwise just fine. Heck, they even had the television on for her. Some prisoner she was....Ah, but now he was getting off subject. "We don't want to reveal our cards this early in the game."

"Even so," Kadaj agreed, "It is best we get to work. Brothers, it is time for you to get to your posts. Good luck."

Loz and Yazoo both nodded formally before leaving the room, weapons fully loaded and minds set for battle.

Fun indeed.

* * *

"Stay alert," Cloud told his companions. They were only ten minutes into the woods and yet nothing eventful had happened. With each minute that passed by, he got more and more anxious. Something big was coming. He could feel it in the tense air.

Tifa nodded from behind him, feeling the exact same emotions he was. She felt so jumpy that if a squirrel jumped out of a tree, she would punch it. The thought almost made her laugh. Although it was impossible to have that reaction here, her muscles did become less tense. She was worrying too much. If this was anything like the last mission, they would probably just get information or something here. There was no threat...

A rustling noise came from ahead, making Yuffie gasp. Cloud pushed both girls behind him and Vincent covered the rear. After a few moments, nothing happened.

Cloud, using as few words as possible, motioned that he and Vincent would go ahead of the girls to see what the noise was.

Tifa and Yuffie stood alone in an open patch of woods.

Tifa's nerves were strangely calm. She knew that if anything came at them, both of them were prepared to take out the threat. But she already had the mindset that nobody was coming for them.

Yuffie, on the other hand, was nervous enough for the both of them. She wasn't afraid for the boys up ahead; both of them had saved the world before. No, she was afraid for her and Tifa. An eerie sense of impending doom hung over her head, keeping her on her toes.

Standing back to back, both girls jumped at the same time when they saw something. Or two _somebodies_.

Approaching in front of Tifa was Loz. And coming in on Yuffie's side was Yazoo. Yuffie clutched her weapon tightly and Tifa raised her fists.

But this wasn't the end of the surprises. Loz became a blur in Tifa's site before two more of him suddenly appeared at his sides. And then another two. And again they appeared, only stopping once there were eight of them. Eight Loz's were present as well.

"!&#* eight Yazoo's," Yuffie muttered. "What's going on with you?"

"Eight Loz's," Tifa mumbled in response, her eyes staying on all of the men. The clones and the real thing were still walking towards her, encircling the girls along with his brother. "You ready for this?"

"The White Rose of Wutai is always ready," Yuffie tried to say optimistically, but the crack in her voice made it clear she had her doubts.

"Then let's go!" the bar maiden shouted, charging forward and kicking one Loz over the head. More moved in to encircle her, throwing punches along the way. Tifa, however, was so fired up that they didn't even touch her. With one powerful spin move, she dispelled all of them. But they didn't stay down. One tackled her, several more taking that as a chance to do the same.

Over on her side, Yuffie was having her own trouble. Her weapon was meant for distance fighting, not close range combat. She was thankful she could dispel Yazoo's bullets, but that was about all she could do. That and hope that they would go back and make an impact to any opponent, because obviously she couldn't.

Tifa growled and squirmed underneath the men, finally turning onto her back and kicking them off of her. She gasped for air and forced herself up, fists raised in either defense or attack. "Fight like a real man, Loz," she challenged. "Dispel these stupid clones and let's do this for real."

One of the men chuckled, stepping forward. "You're not in a position to say anything." She was about to charge at him, but he raised a sword and pointed the tip at her throat. While she was stunned at the change in weaponry, he chuckled. "Oh? You like my new toy? Your boyfriend ruined my last one so now I've come up with something a bit more...traditional. What do you think of it?"

Tifa smirked. "It's terrific."

"Really?"

"Yup," she confirmed. "Because now I can do this!" She moved over to the side and kicked his hand, releasing the sword from his grip. While it was rising up in the sky, she jumped up and grabbed a hold of it.

"Haha!" Loz laughed. "You can't use that thing; you're too used to fighting with your fists!"

Tifa smirked yet again as she landed on the ground. "Why don't you test me?"

"Hmph," he grunted, raising his fists. "This should be fun." The man let out a battle cry and attacked.

Yuffie let out a battle cry as she leapt up into a tree, finally having the right vantage point to attack. She cast a dark spell over her side of the battlefield before throwing her weapon, striking most of the men who threatened her. A victory laugh escaped her lips, but her success wasn't complete. From behind, a loneYazoo hit her over the head with the butt of his gun. She gasped and fell out of the tree, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

Tifa stopped battling with the Loz's when she saw what happened. "Yuffie!" she screamed. The girl didn't move off the ground. Tifa gritted her teeth and quickly disposed of the men around her with some fancy sword work. Three down, ten million to go. She jumped back and set her feet against the trunk of a tree before launching herself across the arena, slashing through almost every one of the men who were present. Landing right next to Yuffie, she fought off a few more of the villains to give the ninja more time to rise to her feet.

Eventually, Yuffie did rise to her feet. But that was just when Tifa was finally hit down. The bar owner slid into Yuffie, knocking them both down.

Yazoo (or a clone of Yazoo) walked forward and looked down at both the girls. "This has been very fun indeed," he stated, a smile appearing on his lips. "It's a shame though...I was expecting more from the ninja."

Yuffie growled and attempted to rise to her feet, only to be pushed back down by one of the clones.

"Anyway," he continued as his brother's clones started to file in and mix with his. "I hope you've had a long, fulfilling life, because this is the end of it all." He pointed the gun at Yuffie. "And you get the honor of dying first."

A gunshot rang out throughout the area, and surprisingly, neither of the girls was hit. Two of the clones fell to the ground, neither getting back up.

A familiar battle cry filled the area as a blond swordsman entered the scene, swinging his obnoxiously huge sword at a group. Tifa defensively brought up an arm to cover her eyes, instinct taking over. Beside her, she felt Yuffie grab onto her free arm tightly. She didn't protest.

Soon enough, the noises of battle disappeared. Tifa shyly opened her eyes and saw Cloud standing in her line of vision, staring down at Loz, who laid on the ground without movement. Unknown to her, Vincent was over on Yuffie's side, just then putting his gun back in his holster.

Cloud turned around and faced Tifa, the frantic look in his eyes making her heart skip a beat. "You okay?"

She nodded wordlessly. Yuffie finally released her arm.

"What happened?" Yuffie asked, her voice sounding a bit shaken. "You guys didn't want to come back until the fight was nearly over?" she rephrased, her voice sounding a bit more optimistic and playful.

Cloud shook his head. "We were wandering for a minute, then we inspected the area and saw that the noise from earlier was only a squirrel. Vincent and I wondered if we should go ahead and find out what the meeting point was. But Vincent thought he heard sounds of a conflict behind us, so we came back as fast as we could."

"B-but--"

"Yuffie," Tifa reminded her, "We were only fighting for a few minutes. I know it felt like an eternity, but they came back as soon as they could."

The younger girl fell silent.

"Anyway," she continued, "What're we going to do? Obviously our time is up."

"You have completed your mission," a voice said from somewhere in the woods. Vincent and Cloud both fingered their weapons and spun toward the source of the voice.

"Well done," Loz said, walking out of the woods along with his brother. Neither of them appeared wounded. "The purpose of this was to test your strength. To see if you were fit to perform more missions."

"Where is Marlene?" Cloud growled, gripping his sword tightly in his hand.

"Don't lose your temper just yet," Yazoo said coolly. "Attack us and you'll lose her. Go home and wait till we contact you for your next assignment."

"Now listen, you..." Yuffie steamed.

"Don't," Tifa said firmly. Everyone turned to her in surprise. "We'll do as you say." To everyone's surprise, she rose to her feet. All eyes may have been on her, but her eyes were glued to Loz. "But I swear, if one hair on her head is out of place, you'll pay. I swear it."

Loz had the nerve to smile, making Tifa's blood boil over. "As you wish, beautiful."

Yuffie grabbed onto Tifa's arm just in time as the bar tender instinctively moved forward. Tifa's angry eyes turned to the ninja, but her expression softened when she realized why her friend had taken action. She was positive that her eyes had shown murderous intention. She turned forward again to look at them.

They were gone.

Tifa took in a shaky breath and shut her eyes, trying to regain her composure. So many emotions were bubbling up inside her...anger, sorrow, fear; it was all too overwhelming. She couldn't be strong anymore—she needed to break down. But not here. The charade would have to last a little longer.

"...girls alright?" Vincent was asking while Tifa wasn't paying attention.

Yuffie nodded faintly. "Yes," she replied softly.

"Tifa?" Cloud inquired gently.

She opened her eyes. "Fine."

"Your arm is bleeding," he stated quietly. There was a certain amount of tenseness in his voice. Tifa looked down and saw that he was correct.

"It's not that bad," she said aloud, shrugging it off.

"Teef..."

"Let's just go home, okay?" she suddenly pleaded, tears reappearing in her eyes.

Cloud nodded quickly. "Yeah. Let's go home."


	11. Chapter 10: Confessions

**I had so many ideas for this chapter. :3 Personally, it was one of my favorites. It was hard to write all that I wanted, but I think you (the readers) will be pleased with it. One part of a conversation later is based off a song. The song is "There For You" by Flyleaf.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, then I would be the happiest girl in the world. But I don't, so I'm just average on the happiness scale.**

Chapter 10: Confessions

Twenty minutes later, the four of them returned to the airship in silence. Not even Cloud, the designated leader, dared to disturb the quiet. Barret, however, who was anxiously awaiting them wasn't afraid to do just that.

"Spike?" he pressured, referring to Cloud by his old nickname. "What happened?" The rest of the AVALANCHE members flooded over before Cloud could respond, their stares making everything extremely awkward.

"We'll have a meeting in the corridor," he said, naturally taking control of the situation. "Cid, can the rest of the crew fly us back a while?"

"!*#$ of course they can. They're my $*&#! students, aren't they?"

Cloud ignored the rampage and turned his attention back to the group. "Let's move." Everyone around him moved forward. Except for the one person whom he hoped would stay back with him. Tifa. He turned toward her, but she wasn't gazing at him. No, her eyes were on the ground. It was clear that she was lost in thought. Cloud gently tapped her hand to get her attention. "You don't have to come to the meeting," he stated softly when he saw her eyes. Obviously she needed some time to herself. She gave him a small smile before walking away, toward her quarters.

For a few moments, he just stood there, watching her go. Then he collected himself and headed to the meeting.

Tifa walked down the long hall and arrived in her room a few minutes later, things appearing exactly as they had before. But then again, what could possibly change in that room besides the bed, the flower and the end table? She sighed, plopping down on the bed. These were petty thoughts; they were distracting her from all the things that had just happened. But she couldn't run from reality.

Reality was trailing right behind her, despite how badly she was trying to stay away from it. It was gnawing at her, tearing her apart. And she couldn't pretend it wasn't anymore. Cloud and the others had almost seen her lose control. Now she would really lose it.

She sobbed into her pillow, sorrow over taking her. _I can't take this!_ she thought miserably. _I can't take the pressure. I can't stand being put in this situation. Marlene is gone and I'm starting to lose myself as well. _

_What could they really want? Why is all this happening?_

The questions were unanswerable, so she left them behind and buried her face again, hoping the demons couldn't haunt her that way.

What a false hope that was.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Cloud's meeting abruptly ended. Everyone filed out to wander the ship and thought about what could be in store for them. But Yuffie had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Again. Though nobody said it aloud, something told her that the four of them were the ones who were supposed to be in the woods. And even though Kadaj had given Tifa a choice, she had fallen right in line with his expectations.

They were helplessly being controlled by those villains.

Just as she got up to leave the corridor, she was stopped in the doorway.

"Yuffie," Vincent said, voice extremely cold. The ninja stopped in her tracks and turned to face the man who had come to her rescue in the last hour.

He stared at her for a moment before his eyes wandered to the ground. "How's your ankle?"

She subconsciously lowered her eyes to the ground before answering. "Fine," she mumbled, lying. It was throbbing so badly she almost felt like it would just fall off. On the way back to the ship, she had been limping quite a bit. But she had been in the back of the group, hoping nobody would notice.

Vincent had noticed.

"You're lying," he said plainly. "Everyone noticed that you were limping." Yuffie blushed in embarrassment. "And I can see now how you're standing with one hand to the wall. That minimizes the pressure on your one leg." Her cheeks got even redder; apparently nobody saw through her rouse. Maybe she was just a bad actress. Or the people around her were really good at seeing the truth. It was probably both.

She sighed, surrendering. "Alright," she confessed. "So it is worse now; big deal. This isn't about me. It's about Marlene." Then, suddenly ending the conversation, she took a step to the door.

"Yuffie." Vincent grabbed her hand, making her heart skip a beat. She didn't know that he had the same reaction on the inside. "If you let me see it, I can help."

Surprised, she turned to face him again. "You'd do that? ...For me?"

He nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips. He had quite a lovely smile. "O-of course," he said awkwardly. Yuffie smiled; she could have sworn he had started to blush. She laughed and gave Vincent's hand a light squeeze. To her total shock, he didn't pull away. But he did change the topic.

"Let's go take care of your ankle...Yuffie."

* * *

In the mean time, Cloud had headed back to Tifa's room. He didn't know for sure where she was, but he doubt that she would go anywhere that she thought anyone could walk in on her. She had been so upset earlier...so near tears. Cloud's heart ached for her. And for his friends. And for Marlene. It wasn't easy coming back and not being trusted right away.

But he had a feeling that they did trust him again. After all, they had allowed him to become a leader of sorts during all of this. And Barret was more casual with him. Cid swore the same way he used to. Nanaki had seemed cautious at first, but whenever he saw Cloud and Tifa together, he seemed more at ease. In fact, everyone had reacted that way.

Tifa though...that was who he cared about the most. She hadn't trusted him at the start...though she wouldn't say it in words, he saw it through her actions. And every time she turned away from him it felt as if she stabbed him in the heart. He thought he was doing her a favor by leaving. He left **for** her. But that was something she didn't understand.

He arrived at her room and silently opened the door, first aid kit in hand. She was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Tears left streaks on her cheeks, but they weren't flowing at that moment.

When Tifa saw him staring at her, she sat up in her bed, legs dangling off the side. Cloud took a few steps in and then knelt down by her, opening the first aid kit. At first she was confused, but then she was that there was blood on her arm from earlier. _Oh—I forgot about that_, she thought numbly, eyes watching Cloud go through the kit. Once he had what he needed, he did something that shocked her.

He took off his gloves and grabbed her hand.

Tifa blinked in surprise but didn't pull away. First off, he never took off his gloves. He was always formal; always professional. But now that she could feel the softness of his hand, it felt like the total opposite. She felt as if her heart would leap out of her chest. This was significant to her, though she couldn't explain why.

Cloud ran a wipe over her wound, causing a strong stinging sensation. Tifa winced involuntarily, gripping Cloud's hand a little bit more tightly. He gave hers a gentle squeeze, his eyes moving up to hers before going back to her arm.

But she had already seen enough in his eyes in that one quick glance. She saw the care and concern, the gentleness, the—she couldn't believe she was thinking this—the love. And what she saw wasn't love from a friend; it was definitely romantic. Tifa may not have been good at voicing her feelings all throughout life, but she was always good at analyzing the feelings of others.

Time passed so quickly that Tifa didn't even realize Cloud had finished his task and was looking to her again. When she finally noticed, she turned and looked him in the eye. That was something she had avoided at the start, but now...now it was different. Somehow it was very different. And she didn't mind it.

Gripping onto Cloud's hand, she slowly rose to her feet. He moved with her and stood to his full height, coming out a few inches above her. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before Tifa abruptly released his hand. Cloud looked confused until something else happened.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, head resting on his chest. An exhausted sigh escaped her lips. No...it wasn't completely exhaustion...it also was a bit of contentment. And peace. It finally felt like she had somebody she could lean on and depend on. For the first time in years, she felt completely whole.

Cloud wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head, resting in lightly on top of hers. Any other girl would have been freaking out because it was a "perfect romance" moment, but for him, it was just a moment with Tifa. Any moment with her was perfect. When she frowned, he saw a smile. When she cried, he heard laughter. When she glared at him, he saw affection. No matter what was going on, Tifa was absolutely stunning. He wished he had a good way to put it in words.

At that moment, however, it didn't matter. The silence was comfortable and it spoke much more loudly than any words could have.

Tifa thought about breaking the silence, but the three words she wanted to say wouldn't come out without a fight. Alright, so Cloud had left her before. And it had killed her. But he was home now and everything seemed to be falling into place for them. She understood that and liked it. But she couldn't say what she was feeling until she knew one thing: why he had left. Nevertheless, she wouldn't ask that question. Things had flown naturally thus far. If they were meant to be, they would keep moving on.

"Tifa," Cloud started softly, lifting his chin off her head. She nodded faintly into his chest. "Can I tell you why I left?"

This really caught her attention. She looked up at him and nodded again. "Alright, but let's sit down." Cloud nodded to her and sat down on the bed, Tifa doing the same next to him.

He took a deep breath and clasped his hands, looking down at the floor. It appeared he didn't know how to start this conversation. Strangely, though, things weren't awkward. Both of them knew they were working up to the point where they'd discuss this. They were both prepared—emotionally, at least.

"I left...because I thought that would be best for you." Tifa gave him a look. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Cloud gazed up at her and saw her confused look. "I mean," he elaborated, "that I thought my being around was keeping you from living your life. I figured that if you didn't have to worry about me anymore, you could really live. And that you could get somebody special in your life and be happy."

Tifa looked up at the ceiling. "So...that's why you were surprised I didn't have a boyfriend or anything," she said, sorting through her thoughts aloud.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. I was really surprised when I came home and things weren't better than when I left." He chuckled weakly. "Especially with Marlene being taken..." he turned somber and looked over at the woman beside him. "I wasn't going to stay away forever," he said softly. "I was going to come home once I felt like I could be there without intruding on your life."

She shook her head. "No. You never got in the way of me living my life," Tifa said quietly. "I loved having you around, even if you weren't really there."

"I'm really sorry."

"I know you are." She smiled and looked over at him, feeling his eyes on her. He looked like a puppy dog, pleading to be accepted. "And I forgave you a really long time ago. We all had to go through rough periods. That was yours." She paused. "And I guess...this one is mine."

Cloud unfolded his hands and set one of his on Tifa's. "I want to be there for you during all this. I want to be someone you can come to." He suddenly looked frantic, as if trying to get Tifa to understand just how urgent and important this was to him. "Sometimes, I'm a selfish fake. But you're always a true friend. I really don't deserve you."

Tifa turned her hand a grasped his in hers. "I've forgiven you," she repeated reassuringly.

He smiled—oh, what a beautiful smile. "Do you trust me?"

She locked eyes with him as she answered. "Yes."

"...Do you..."

"...yes?"

"........"

"I think I already know what it is," she confessed.

"O-oh?"

Tifa leaned over and gave Cloud a light peck on the lips. "I do love you."

Cloud chuckled to himself. "Am I really that easy to read?"

"Pretty much," she smirked.

"And for right now...I'm okay with that." Tifa giggled, making Cloud's heart skip a beat. "I love you too...in a way I can't express clearly in words."

The young woman smiled and set her free hand on Cloud's arm. "Well..." she started thoughtfully. "Actions do speak more loudly than words."

Cloud nodded in agreement, a smile widening on his face. Gosh, Tifa loved that smile. She exhaled and set her head on his shoulder, relaxing.

Things may not have been alright around her. The world was totally falling apart. It seemed as if no matter what she did, things weren't going to be okay ever again.

But at that moment, she knew that wasn't true. As long as she had somebody faithful by her side, things would go back to normal. Actually, no...they wouldn't go back to normal. They would be better than normal. For once in her life, things were going to be **great**. Tifa looked forward to that day, no matter how far off it was.

At that moment, she made a decision. She would stand tall in the downpour and watch for the rainbow to come. And she knew she wouldn't be doing it alone, either.


	12. Chapter 11: Temporary Celebration

**Hey guys, I realize it's been a while. I've been busy. But if I get a lot of reviews for this chapter, then I'll be sure to post the next one quicker. =)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Because of this sad fact, I spend my time as an obsessive videogame player writing out stories that I think are good enough to be made by the real owners. **

**Ok, maybe not, but I still own nothing. **

Chapter 11: Temporary Celebration

Yuffie, eager and hyper as always, was running down a long hall in the ship when she nearly collided with a tall man in dark clothes. She gasped in surprise, but then remembered why she was running in the first place. "V-Vincent!" she panted, grabbing onto his arm for support. "You won't believe what I just overheard!"

"If it's pointless gossip, I don't care."

"Oh shut up!" Yuffie said excitedly. "You're gonna care about this. Cloud and Tifa love each other! L-O-V-E. _**LOVE**_!!!"

"Yuffie, that's none of our business. What they feel for each other is between them, you should know that..."

"Yeah...yeah, sure," the ninja said, looking over Vincent's shoulder. She had completely ignored the lecture he started to give, only concerned with passing on the valuable information she had received. Alright, so maybe she shouldn't have eavesdropped. Oh well, everyone would have found out eventually. And now they'll just find it out from her. Yeah—that'll make things less awkward for Cloud and Tifa! "I gotta go Vinnie, see ya later!"

Vincent started to protest, but Yuffie was already running around him and to the man part of the ship. Where everyone except the crew was. He scowled and turned around, following her to make sure she didn't cause too much trouble.

"Guys, Tifa and Cloud are together," Yuffie announced. The room around her immediately fell silent and everyone looked to her. Their expressions were so unreadable that Yuffie wondered if she had made a mistake. Silence hovered over all of them like a dark rain cloud for a while.

"How do you know?" Reeve finally asked.

"I overheard them."

"You shouldn't have been snooping, Yuffie," Nanaki said.

"I-I wasn't trying to at first!" she cried defensively. "I was going to talk to Tifa but Cloud was in there and I heard them saying stuff."

"...What kind of stuff?" Barret inquired. Yuffie wasn't sure if he was mad or happy. She hesitated one moment before answering.

"Just that they loved each other and stuff. Really, I feel like I missed a ton of the conversation."

"Well, ain't that a shame?" Cid mumbled sarcastically. Only Nanaki and Vincent, who had great hearing, heard his remark.

Yuffie sighed and plopped herself down in a chair. "Come on guys, this is exciting! First he comes back suddenly, and ever since then they've been falling for each other! It's the perfect romance story, isn't it?"

The room was awkwardly silent, considering men didn't read romance novels or watch chick flicks.

The ninja sighed again, brining a hand to her forehead. "You guys are so stupid," she mumbled.

Footsteps reverberated from the hallway behind them, sounding extremely loud in the quiet room. Yuffie didn't turn around, figuring that it was only Vincent walking away to do...well, whatever it was he did. He was such a mystery to her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Tifa asked pleasantly.

Yuffie jumped out of her seat in surprise. There, right behind her, stood Cloud and Tifa. both of them looked happy, but not in a way that was too obvious to everyone else in the room. Those stupid men wouldn't have seen the romance between them even if it smacked them in the face.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Yuffie blurted, nearly tackling Tifa in a hug.

"Whoa, what?" Tifa inquired. She cautiously returned the hug, giving the younger girl a few pats on the back.

"We know you two are together," Yuffie said excitedly.

"W-what? But how?"

"That's not important," she responded, releasing Tifa from the tight hug. "But we all know you two...um...well, have feelings for each other. You know, love each other." The words sounded more and more awkward as she kept talking. Eventually, she decided to stop speaking all together and let things flow out naturally.

But Tifa was too surprised to respond with anything but questions. And since she had asked all the clear and obvious questions, she was silent.

Cloud awkwardly rubbed the back of his head before looking over at Tifa. "I'm not ashamed if you're not," he said softly, setting a hand on her shoulder. Tifa smiled widely at this and nodded, leaning into him.

Yuffie squealed in excitement. "We should celebrate! Cid, do you have any beverages on board?"

"!*#& of course I do!" he exclaimed excitedly, thinking about his stash of alcohol. In reality, he only wanted to have a party as an excuse to get drunk. "I'll go get it. Congrats to the happy couple!" The pilot ran out of the room in search of enough beer for all who were interested—or at least enough for himself.

Reeve smiled kindly and stood up, walking over to Tifa and Cloud. "I am happy for you both, especially you, Tifa. I'm glad he finally came to his senses," he said with a wink.

Tifa laughed happily. "Oh Reeve." She gave him a friendly hug, glad for his sense of humor and friendship. They had gotten especially close in the past year. Nothing romantic; just a great friendship. And his opinion meant so much to her; she was truly happy he had said what he said.

"Congratulations, Cloud and Tifa," Nanaki said, walking up to the two of them. "It's about time something good happened around here."

Cloud hummed in agreement, nodding. "Thanks, Red."

While Cloud continued to interact with Red XIII, Tifa walked over to Barret.

"Tifa..."

"Barret, I know you're probably upset--"

"You always said you would ask me if I approved of the guy," the burly man said calmly.

"I know; you're mad because you don't think he's good enough. Because he ran away. But..."

"Tifa, let me speak, please." Tifa nodded and stopped trying to speak, knowing that she was most likely in for a lecture. Barret was like a brother to her. Or a father, since he was so protective of her.

"I think he's perfect for you."

She gasped and looked up at him, disbelieving at first. But he was smiling at her, and that told her otherwise. "R-really?"

Barret nodded. "Yeah. Teef, he's the best thing that's gonna happen to you. I could see from the very start that something was going to happen. The way he looked at you...I've never seen a man look at you like that." He laughed. "Heck, I've wanted to knock out any other man who looked at you. Including your ex."

Tifa's smile faded at that last sentence. "You never told me that..."

He shook his head. "No; I wanted to respect that you had to live your life your way. Who you date isn't up to me. It's just up to me to protect you from getting hurt by 'em." Tifa smiled again. "But now I don't have to worry about that, do I?" he mused.

His adoptive sister shook her head. "No," she agreed. "But I know you'll still be looking out for me anyway."

Barret burst out in laughter. "You got that right," he said with a smile. They shared an embrace, everything at that moment being absolutely perfect.

"Hey-hey!" Cid hollered, hurrying into the room. He held at least a half dozen beer bottles in his arms, nearly dropping them as he made his way over to a table. "Let's get it started!!"

Yuffie squealed in delight, glomping Tifa and Barret from behind. Tifa laughed cheerfully, a smile appearing on her face.

From the other side of the room, Cloud smiled. Even with nobody watching him, he knew that his smile was important. It was something he hadn't done too much of in the past year—or his entire life, for that matter. But now...now that he was genuinely happy, he had every reason to smile. And he would do it for himself.

"Congratulations, Cloud," a monotone voice said from behind him.

He turned around and offered his friend a small smile. "Thank you, Vincent." Though the vampire's tone showed no emotion, Cloud knew he wouldn't have said anything if he didn't truly mean it. He and Vincent were alike in that sense. "Who knows; maybe it'll be you and Yuffie next."

Vincent chuckled. Cloud wasn't sure if it was an awkward laugh or if Vincent thought the idea was absurd. But then again, it wasn't his business. The only thing he had to be worried about now was Tifa. And his family, Marlene and Denzel.

He had a new sense of purpose now; his duty was to protect and love them all. It was a challenge he was ready to face head on.

This time, he wouldn't turn away.

* * *

"Kadaj," a man said to his superior. Kadaj smiled pleasantly and turned around in his chair, seeing both of his brothers enter the room once more. Both of them looked extremely pleased. Pleased...and excited. Things were progressing so much more quickly than they had originally thought possible.

"Brothers," he greeted. "Excellent job. The information that we gathered because of that fight was absolutely crucial to our mission. I couldn't be more pleased with the results."

Loz laughed and took a few steps over, sitting down in a chair. Yazoo followed his lead and did the same, making a complete triangle with the three brothers. "So, what next? Need we give them our next physical challenge?"

"That's hardly necessary," Yazoo said. "At least, not for the purposes of testing. We could use it to keep them off our trail a bit longer. After all, so far they've been so busy they haven't had a chance to do real detective work."

"Yes, I'm a bit disappointed in that," Kadaj confessed. "After all, what's the fun of this if we can't even get them involved in their own special way?" He paused. "Nevertheless, we have a rare opportunity now to skip over days of work and hassle. We can move on now and get our task completed that much sooner."

"Who would have thought technology would come in handy so much?" Yazoo mused.

"Agreed," Kadaj said with a laugh. "You two didn't even travel to the fight location—the clones did all the work."

"And Tifa and the others figured that we would actually show up so early in the game!" Loz said mockingly. "Perhaps we have overestimated their intelligence."

"No; they just haven't had a chance to really discover the truth," Kadaj inserted. "Given more time, they would see it all so clearly and be on our tails. That's why we can't give them that chance."

Yazoo and Loz silently nodded in agreement.

"Yazoo, you'll be in charge of getting the new target. Loz, you'll take care of Marlene. We'll start the next phase of this game at exactly five o' clock A.M."

"What are you going to do, Kadaj?" Loz asked innocently.

Kadaj smiled and answered the question without missing a beat. "Make the phone call, of course."


	13. Chapter 12: Time Drags On

**Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted my last chapter. =( Sorry about that guys, I've had a REALLY stressful 2 weeks. Seriously, you have no idea. But here's chapter 12—enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: FFVII is the most epic videogame in the world. It is far too epic for me to have any part in ownership over it. Sad, but true.**

Chapter 12: Time Drags On

Four hours later, not a thing in the world had changed. At least, not in Tifa's eyes. They had landed the airship about two hours ago and had since then been having a meeting in the meeting building where they had first discussed options. Now, here they were again, doing the same thing. But there was nothing to discuss; Kadaj was very careful not to give them any opportunities to find him or his brothers.

His cell phone couldn't be tracked unless he called Tifa's phone and stayed on for a while. Thus far, that hadn't happened. And it probably wouldn't happen, since he somehow knew how they would try to find him.

There were no background noises in his phone calls to give him away, either. No machines going off, no birds chirping...nothing. The only thing was his voice. His horrible, menacing voice.

Tifa yawned tiredly, hand to her face and elbow on the table. The others may have gotten rest on the first trip north, but she hadn't. She had been too concerned and distraught. And, of course, she still was. Her emotions felt even more chaotic with her lack of sleep. Not only was there sadness, but she was starting to feel apathetic and hopeless. She had told herself she wouldn't sleep until she got Marlene back. Obviously, unless she came back within the next half hour, that wasn't going to happen.

"...let's take a break," Cloud was saying to the group as Tifa dozed off. The girl beside him stared aimlessly at the table while everyone around her stood and exited the room. Everyone except for them.

"Tifa," Cloud said gently, lightly brushing her shoulder. She jumped slightly, coming out of her daze.

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you go home and get some rest?" he suggested softly, rubbing her arm.

"I'm fine," she lied.

Cloud shook his head. "No, you're not. You need to take a breather from all this. Nothing's going on right now anyway."

Tifa fell silent, turning her eyes to Cloud. "But, Marlene..."

A warm hand moved to her cheek, tenderness apparent in the touch. "Teef, do you trust me?"

A faint smile appeared on Tifa's lips before disappearing. "Of course I do," she said, leaning onto Cloud's hand lightly. She appreciated what he was saying and doing here—it was exactly what she needed at that moment. It was calming her down surprisingly quickly.

"Then let me take care of things for a little while," he said calmly. "I don't think anything's going to happen for a little while. After all, they haven't called at all this morning."

_Morning?_ Tifa thought weakly. _No wonder I'm so tired..._Her eyes wandered to a clock on the wall. 4:25 AM. And it would probably be a twenty minute bus ride before she got home. "...Are you sure, Cloud?"

He nodded. "Positive."

She sighed softly, setting a hand on top of Cloud's on her cheek. "I'll take a bus home and get some rest. I really could use it," she confessed softly. "But I'll have my phone on me the whole time, okay? Let me know if something major happens."

Cloud nodded again. "I promise." He smiled tenderly as he leaned forward to give her a kiss on the forehead.

Tifa stayed there for a moment, temporary peace flooding her heart. But eventually, she knew that she had to go home. No matter how happy she was with Cloud there, happiness alone couldn't keep her eyes open. In fact, it was making her feel even drowsier. She released his hand and gently sat it down before she rose out of her seat. The man next to her stood as well.

He looked her in the eye, blue eyes shining. "I love you."

The bar maiden leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "I love you too," she said, smiling kindly. They held each other's gaze for another moment before Tifa broke it off, exiting the room so she could catch a bus and head home.

* * *

At 4:45, everyone gathered again in the meeting room. Cloud had taken a brief moment to explain that he had sent Tifa home to get some rest. All the others agreed with him, supporting his decision and sympathizing with Tifa.

They sat together, discussing possibilities of what the past challenges could have meant and what the future could offer. Would there be more physical challenges? Or would they be races against time to solve mysteries and stop chaos? There was no way to tell.

There were no clues to anything. This situation was absolutely hopeless, and they all knew it.

The discussion continued for a while until it turned into a debate over what would happen when they found out where Kadaj was. Cid just wanted to blow up the place and kill the three brothers, but Barret argued otherwise, saying that would put Marlene in danger. But Cid, obsessed with the easy way out, wouldn't budge.

"Everyone calm down," Reeve said, raising his voice over Barret and Cid. "We're not even at that point yet. We need to focus on finding them. Any ideas?"

"Maybe they'd go where not many people are?" Nanaki inserted. "An abandoned building outside of a town?"

"What about the northern continent?" Vincent asked. "After all, they should have been close enough for us to battle them. Unless they had a ship and flew there as well."

"I doubt that," Yuffie commented. "How would they get the ship?"

"We don't even know how they're alive!" Barret boomed. "They can do whatever they want to!"

"#*!& right!"

Everyone started shouting again, fighting to be heard over each other. Barret and Cid faced off in a cussing contest, and Yuffie shouted at Reeve while Vincent tried to calm them down. All this was going on while Cloud just sat there, in his own thoughts. That, and he didn't want to get punched in the face by anyone, so he thought it would be better just to wait it out.

Then the phone rang.

But nobody else heard it! "Guys, shut up!" Cloud shouted. "The phone!" All his friends kept fighting.

Vincent, coming to Cloud's aid, pulled out his gun and shot into the ceiling a few times. That immediately got everyone quiet and curious. "The phone," he said calmly, pointing to it. Everyone's gaze moved over to that, but nobody made a move to pick it up.

Cloud made the move. "Hello?"

"Greetings, Mr. Strife," a male voice said on the other end. "I hope your morning is going well thus far."

"...Kadaj?" he inquired, his gut feeling telling him that was whom he was speaking to. He had never heard his enemy's voice over the phone before—but he supposed there was a first time for everything.

"You got it," Kadaj said with a laugh. "I'm so sorry for calling you at...oh, 4:56 in the morning. I hope I didn't wake you."

"You know all too well that you didn't," Cloud snapped viciously. His friends stared at him in awe; they had seen him upset before, but never quite like this. He was absolutely steaming, and Yuffie bet that if Kadaj was there with them, Cloud would have strangled him. Or killed him twice, if that was possible. But with this man, anything was possible. Or with both men—they were both extraordinary in their own ways.

Kadaj laughed again. "Yes, I suppose that's right."

"Let's cut to the chase, Kadaj," Cloud said firmly. "I'm sick of playing your games. Why did you call?"

"Oh, but the game is just beginning!" he said excitedly. Cloud growled on the other side of the line, but Kadaj ignored it. "In fact, I was congratulating you on completing part one of the game. Excellent job!"

There was a moment of silence, but this time, Cloud just waited it out. He had nothing left to say to that despicable man who kidnapped little girls and played games with human beings for fun.

"Anyway...I have another riddle for you. And it's a doozy. Ready?

"_What clothes itself in black and white and is more precious than gold_?"

"You have twenty minutes for this one. If you don't figure out what it is or what to do, something quite awful will happen."

"KADAJ..." Cloud steamed.

"Ready?"

"**I'm not done with you--**"

"Go." Kadaj hung up the phone, leaving Cloud alone in his anger. Well, not alone; everyone around him was staring at him wondering what was going on.

"A riddle," Cloud said aloud, setting down the phone. "_'What clothes itself in black and white and is more precious than gold?'_"

"What the #&( is that supposed to mean?" Cid muttered.

The blond swordsman shook his head. "I don't know, but if we don't figure it out in the next twenty minutes then something's gonna happen. Something terrible."

* * *

Twenty-five minutes after leaving, Tifa was arriving at her home. She winced at the sight she was greeted with; the bar was a mess. It made sense, since it was a scene of a crime, but still. It also looked like Reno was there longer than the initial investigation. A bunch of glasses and bottles of beer sat on the counter.

She sighed, bringing a hand to her head. There was no way she'd sleep peacefully knowing there was a mess downstairs. Maybe she was overly neat with her bar, but it was just a habit of hers to keep everything clean. But she was sick of wearing jeans and a sweatshirt; if she was going to get any real work done, she'd have to change back to her usual outfit.

So the first thing she did was head upstairs, and in a matter of minutes, she was in her comfortable leather outfit. She had to admit, it was so much more comfy than jeans. Every once in a while she tried different outfits, but this was always her favorite.

_And now for the glasses,_ she mused, staring at the scene from the bottom of the stairs. Instead of staying there and stalling, she headed right over to clean up the mess. After all, the sooner she got everything straightened up, the sooner she got to sleep. And the sooner she would hear about Marlene.

At least, that's what she hoped would happen. No matter how anxious she was about the whole situation, she knew falling asleep wouldn't be a problem. Adrenaline had kept her running thus far, but she was about to crash. It was a good thing Cloud told her to come home.

Tifa smiled despite herself at the thought of him. Cloud. Finally, something right was going on. She had loved him all her life, whether she was willing to admit it aloud or not. And even though she tried to convince herself otherwise during the past year, she knew now by the feeling in her heart that she truly did love him.

It had once been said that true love never dies. Puppy love, selfish love, or any other type of love was nothing compared to real love. Real love made you do crazy things you never even would have considered before. You live for someone else and give up your self. Pleasing them is your purpose.

And you know that in their heart, they feel the same. Well, that's the ideal. That was the case for Cloud and Tifa. It was clear to her that they shared the same passion for each other. And this passion would burn like an eternal flame.

Distracted by her thoughts of Cloud, cleaning the dishes went surprisingly quick. It only took her about five minutes. Tifa looked at the clock at the very moment she finished.

5:00 AM.

Her cell phone rang from upstairs.

_Crap! I forgot to take it out of my jean pocket!_ she thought, panicking on the inside. She hurried upstairs to get it, nearly tripping over herself a few times.

Pushing open the door to her bedroom, she plopped down onto the bed and reached into the pocket, pulling out her phone on the third ring. She flipped it open and answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly.

"Hello, Tifa," Kadaj said calmly. "Do you want Marlene back?"

Tifa swallowed hard, staring off into space in front of her. It only took her a moment to find the words to answer.

"Yes. Yes I do."


	14. Chapter 13: Surprises

**Ooo, that was some cliffy at the end of the last chapter, eh? Hope it got you excited for this chapter! Sorry about the delay, I've been super busy lately, and on a hiatus from writing. =/ Hopefully I'll pick it up again someday soon. Thanks to all the people for reviewing! It gives me inspiration to keep the story going. =) **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the epicness of FFVII. Except for my story, which should not be stolen by anyone. That would make me quite sad.**

Chapter 13: Surprises

Tifa was running. She was running as quickly as she could to the woods on the eastern side of Edge. Taking a taxi or calling her friends wasn't an option; the cabs didn't run out there and her cell phone was at home. It seemed foolish now to have left it behind, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good now. This was something she had to do alone. To correct the mistake she had made by letting Marlene get taken.

It would only take about twenty minutes at this pace—she was a very fast running. Kadaj must have known that to give her the time limit he did. The thought of him made her run even more quickly; if Marlene was going to go home, Tifa had to be there at a certain time. What was going to happen, she didn't know. But it didn't matter as long as Marlene was safe.

Tifa didn't see any reason why Kadaj would have lied to her over the phone. He hadn't said much, but it was enough to get Tifa to go to that location.

"Go to the spring in the eastern forest by Edge," he had said. "Wait there and Marlene will be sent home with you."

Weird? Extremely.

Unbelievable? In a sense.

Worth the risk? Absolutely.

Tifa kept running.

This was what she wanted from the start! She wanted her little girl back home, safe and sound. She just hoped that this was the real deal and Kadaj wasn't pulling her leg. After all...why would he just give her back like that? After all the trouble he caused? It didn't seem that simple.

Tifa ran into a clearing in the woods and slowed to a stop, panting heavily. Her brown eyes wandered the area as she tried to figure out exactly where that spring was. She had a general idea, but now that she was in the woods, she felt a bit lost. Panic filled her heart much more quickly than she would have liked.

A soft thud reverberated throughout the area, and then a sharp pain entered Tifa's neck. She gasped and instinctively grabbed at whatever sharp thing was in her neck. A dart...filled with some kind of clearly liquid. A sudden sense of drowsiness took over her, making her sway on her feet.

_No..._she thought weakly, right before she lost consciousness. _This isn't...the way...it was supposed to be..._

It was 5:30 and absolutely nothing happened for Cloud and his gang. They were pretty much calmed now; their time limit was up, but they hadn't been able to figure out what the riddle meant. That explained why they were all on the edge of their seats now. Cloud was surprised Kadaj hadn't called or done anything terrible yet.

_Maybe somebody stopped him_, he thought hopefully. But then the thought disappeared; he knew how tough Kadaj was.

Along with that memory, Cloud also remembered back to twenty minutes ago, when things had been at their peak. Everyone was arguing and yelling, including him. It was at that moment that he was glad Tifa wasn't there with him.

Tifa...maybe she could have figured out the riddle? Well, it didn't matter now, and besides, Cloud didn't want to wake her. God knew how badly she needed to rest.

A phone rang, breaking through the silence. It seemed to set a spell on everyone in that room, making the air ten times thicker than it was before. But it wasn't the main phone—it was Barret's cell phone. _What kind of twist is this?_ Cloud wondered, worried.

Barret reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, answering it on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Daddy!"

He gasped and jumped to his feet. "Marlene!" he cried. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" the young girl whimpered into the phone.

"Where are you?" Barret asked again. "We'll come get you right away; things are gonna be awight now." Cloud and company stared at Barret, a lot of them holding their breath. Marlene was on the other end? How? And why? They hadn't completed the riddle and yet they had a chance to get her back? It didn't make sense...

"A payphone outside of Kalm," Marlene said shakily. "Loz dropped me off here, gave me two quarters and told me to call somebody."

"Kalm," Barret repeated, for the benefit of everyone listening in. "Awight Marlene, you just stay there. Daddy's gonna be there soon to get you."

"Daddy..."

"I love you, sweetheart," Barret told her, his voice breaking slightly with emotion. Joy. Pure and absolute joy.

"Daddy, they took Tifa," Marlene cried. Barret froze, all the happiness on his face disappearing. He paled as she continued. "They said she had to play her role in the game...what does that mean?"

"Marlene, are you sure?" he inquired, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. But...no...This couldn't be right...it had to be a lie. It just had to be!

"Positive!" the girl said through her tears. "Why'd they take her Daddy? Was it because of me?"

"No," he said firmly. "It has nothing to do with you."

"B-but--"

"We're going to come and get you now, sweetie. We'll talk then, okay? Stay where you are."

Marlene sniffled on the other side of the phone. "Alright, I-I'll sstay right here and look for you."

"Okay," Barret breathed. "Honey...I love you."

"I love you too."

The father hesitated before setting down his cell phone. Although he was overjoyed with Marlene's safety, he couldn't look anyone in the eye. He couldn't tell them about Tifa...and besides, he didn't know if it were true! This was something they needed to look into; they couldn't jump to conclusions. After all, Tifa wouldn't go down without a fight. Unless there was no fight involved...

"We'll all go with you to get her," Cloud said, breaking through the silence. "We'll get there before anything else can happen to her."

"I'm not worried about that," Barret confessed with a weak chuckle. Apparently everyone around him had thought his concern was for Marlene. And although he wanted her back right away, he knew she wasn't in danger. Not anymore.

"What is it then?" Yuffie asked in confusion.

"...She told me summin. She...said that....they took Tifa and let Marlene go."

Cloud's face paled significantly within the matter of a few seconds. "W-what?"

"But I don't know for sure," Barret said. "I think we shud split up. Cid'll at least have to take me there, since he's the pilot."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "I'm going to the bar." This sentence wasn't a request; it was a statement. There was absolutely no way that anyone could keep him away from that place. "And I want Reeve and Nanaki with me. Yuffie and Vincent, can you go with Barret? You can check out the area to see if there are any signs of anything happening with Tifa there."

Vincent nodded. "We'll do that."

The blond man nodded again. "Then everyone, let's go. Keep in touch."

Fifteen minutes later, Cloud and his gang pulled up to the bar—Cloud on Fenrir; Nanaki and Reeve in a van right behind him. In his hurry, Cloud nearly tripping off the bike as he hurried toward the bar.

"Tifa!" he hollered desperately. In the back of his mind, he still thought of the faint possibility that she was asleep, but that didn't matter now. If that were the case, he would just pick her up in his arms and hold her out of pure relief. But in his gut, he didn't think that was going to happen.

"Tifa?" Cloud cried again, bright blue eyes searching the downstairs. No sign of her; no sign of struggle. "Tifa!!" As Nanaki and Reeve entered behind him, he ran to the upstairs. He stumbled on a few steps before catching his balance, which was very surprising. Cloud Strife had never been the clumsy type. But that was what happened when you were deathly afraid for somebody you loved.

He turned at the top of the stairs and, to his surprise, Tifa's door was open. "Tifa?" he asked softly, nearly whispering. The room was empty except for a few items lying on her bed. The jeans and sweatshirt she had been wearing, along with something else:

Her cell phone.

That was what broke it to Cloud; she wasn't there.

"God, no," he prayed, whispering aloud. "No....no, she can't be gone." He reached out and grabbed the phone, opening it without thought. Somehow his trembling hands managed to find her recent calls...she had received a call at five o' clock. Right after Cloud had finished talking to Kadaj.

"_What clothes itself in black and white and is more precious that gold?"_

Tifa. Of course it was Tifa.

Tifa was the answer to the riddle. And now she was gone because Cloud had been too stupid to figure it out.

The sound of footsteps reverberated through the house, a ringing noise filling Cloud's ears. Tifa was taken. Because of him. All because of him.

"Cloud?" Reeve asked softly, standing in the doorway. The warrior turned around, blankly staring at his friend in the eyes. "You find something?"

He nodded. "Yes. Kadaj got a hold of Tifa. Right after he finished talking to me." Cloud looked down at Nanaki, who was standing there beside Reeve now. "Tifa was the answer to the riddle. We failed her."

"Hope is not lost," Nanaki said. "I caught onto her scent. I think we can follow where she went."

"We have nothing to lose," Cloud muttered bitterly. He meant no offense to his friends, and they didn't take it that way. If anyone in Cloud's whole party knew about his feelings for Tifa, it was those two. "Lead the way."

Thirty minutes later, the three of them were approaching the woods. Of course, they were on foot. After all, Nanaki couldn't very well smell out a trail if he were in a vehicle, could he? No, that was a ridiculous idea.

Red XIII stopped at one area, sniffing it heavily. "She was here," he informed his friends. "And judging by the imprinted grass, it looked like she fell."

"Or collapsed," Reeve said grimly. Cloud winced, staring at the ground. _Tifa..._

"No signs of a fight," Nanaki continued. "The scent keeps going a little bit." He moved as he spoke following a path on the ground. "And then it stops...right...here," he said, stopping right at some other marks. Skid marks.

"She was picked up," Reeve confirmed. "She must have been lured here and then taken away."

"But did she expect it?" Nanaki inquired. "Did she know that Marlene was going to be released if she obeyed? Or was there a chase and she was overpowered?"

"Her phone was left behind. So it doesn't look like a sudden thing. I think...she knew what she was doing. Or at least had a good idea of what was going to happen."

Over to the side, Cloud was staring at the ground, deep in thought. He heard everything his friends were saying, but in his mind, he could only think about how desperately he felt for Tifa. How desperately in love he was with her, and how desperately he wanted her back.

"What now?" Cloud muttered incoherently. Normally, he was the one to come up with ideas, but his mind was too clouded with worry. Worry…and sorrow. Why could he never protect her?

"We'll call Reno in again to inspect the bar and this area," Nanaki replied, only understanding Cloud because of his excellent hearing. "Then we'll meet back with the others and gather clues as to what happened and where Tifa is. Who knows, maybe by then we'll get a call from Kadaj."

Cloud nodded faintly. A part of him hoped they would get a call from Kadaj, then he could try and figure out what was going on directly from the source. But at the same time, he didn't want that. What if Kadaj said he was hurting Tifa? He just couldn't handle that. He couldn't.

How did he fall so deeply in love with her? And now that love, which was such a good thing an hour ago, at that moment was cutting wounds deeper than even Sephiroth could accomplish.


	15. Chapter 14: Answers

**Hey everyone. I'm going to try to post chapters more quickly now—I've been inspired to start writing again, which is good for you. =) Here's Chapter 14…Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: For the 18,000****th**** time, I do not own FFVII. Just the story. Not the FFVII storyline, this story right here. The one that I'm writing. Or typing. Whatever.**

Chapter 14: Answers

Barret stood in the front of the airship, staring out the front window. Behind him, Cid was screaming orders to his crew. However, the burly man hardly noticed, since his thoughts were elsewhere.

Marlene. His daughter. She was away from the madmen…and unharmed. He hated to think of this critically…but why wasn't she hurt? And why was she allowed to come home? Did it have to do with Tifa's disappearance? In a strange way, he hoped it did. If that were the case, then his daughter really was out of trouble. Tifa on the other hand—

"There she is!" Yuffie cried from beside Barret. Sure enough, there was a little girl standing right beside a payphone outside of Kalm. Even though she wasn't that clearly visible, Barret knew that was his daughter.

"Marlene!" he cried without thought, wanting to jump off the ship and get to his daughter. But the others wouldn't allow that to happen. And besides, Cid was already landing the airship. Although it was quicker than usual, it still seemed to take an eternity.

The aircraft touched down on the ground, the gateway opening right away. And the moment it touched the grass, Barret was running out toward his little girl, and she to him.

"Daddy!" Marlene leapt up into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her quiet, frightful sobs were muted as they went into Barret's neck. The burly man held on as tightly as he could, almost afraid that if he let her go, she would disappear again. Into Kadaj's clutches. And although he wanted to KILL Kadaj at that moment, he focused on Marlene, not letting any of his anger show through his actions.

"Are you alright?" Barret said after a while, head resting on top of hers.

Marlene nodded slightly. "They didn't hurt me. And they said they never would…not then or ever."

"Marlene!" Yuffie called, running over to the family. Marlene smiled faintly and looked up at the ninja running toward her, unsure if she was going to topple them over or not. But then she dismissed the thought; nobody could knock over Barret.

Yuffie came to a stop right by the two, grabbing onto Marlene's outstretched hand. The girl turned surprisingly tearful and didn't bother hiding it. This was a side of her most people had never seen before. "Oh Marlene!" she choked. "I was so worried…."

"Yuffie, I'm alright," she insisted gently. "Don't cry…"

Vincent then approached the area, but that was unknown to Yuffie. That is, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She chuckled weakly, then quickly wiped at her tears. "Right. Sorry…" The charade of being happy was on again, but this time, everyone saw through it. There was more to Yuffie than met the eye.

"Let's go back now," Vincent said softly. "Cloud and the others are probably going to be waiting for us with some information."

Marlene released her father, but he didn't release her. "Cloud?" she inquired, clearly confused. It was then that Yuffie remembered he came back right after she was taken. She had no clue that he had returned for good, or what was happening between him and Tifa. Or rather, what did happen between them, since Tifa was gone now.

Yuffie nodded faintly, wiping at one last tear. "He came back, sweetie."

The young girl's facial expression changed slightly at that. It appeared she was trying to hide some happiness and was covering it up with a pout. "I wanna talk to him!"

"He doesn't have a cell phone anymore."

"Then I wanna see him!"

"We're going to him right away," Yuffie said soothingly, acting surprisingly mature.

Marlene finally stopped pouting and calmed down. But after a few moments of silence, she started up again. "Well, are we going or not? Let's go!" Vincent smiled despite the situation. That was just like Tifa, always wanting to get the job done and get it done quickly. The little girl was so much like her adoptive mother.

Barret set down the girl slowly, staring at her as if he would never see her again. From now on, he knew he would have a hard time letting his daughter go. After all, a kidnapping wasn't something you just got over in a day or two. He would be overly protective for a long time, whether Marlene liked it or not.

"I'm fine," the girl sighed, seeing the look on Barret's face. "Really."

The father smiled faintly, though he wasn't happy deep down inside. He was insanely worried about Tifa, who was like his sister. It was as if Kadaj was purposely taking away those closest to him. But he knew that wasn't true; things ran more deeply than personal connections.

"Let's go home."

By 7:20, everyone was back in the conference hall, sitting around the same table they had gathered around just a few hours ago. Now, however, the empty seat that had belonged to Tifa was taken by Marlene. The girl, despite her young age, was determined to sit in on this meeting and help in any way she could. It wasn't much, but maybe she had enough information to lead them to Kadaj.

After describing the room she was locked in, everyone felt a sense of despair.

That room was so general, it could be anywhere. But the warmth of the room let them know that Kadaj wasn't on the northern continent. That was some help. Other than that, things were completely hopeless. Tifa had been missing for about two hours at that time, and there were no leads that could help them find her.

And then Tifa's phone rang in Cloud's pocket.

Nanaki and Cloud were the first to realize the significance of this. Nobody else would call Tifa—Cloud was sure about that. He reached into his pants pocket and flipped it open on the third ring. "Hello?"

"I'm pleased you thought to keep the phone with you."

"Kadaj," Cloud growled. "Where's Tifa?"

The man on the other side of the line merely laughed. Oh, how Cloud hated that laugh. At that moment, he hated it more than he hated anything in the world.

"**Answer me!"**

"She's here with me and my brothers," Kadaj responded apathetically.

"I want to talk to her."

"Why?"

"To make sure she's alright."

"That's not going to happen?"

"Why not?" Cloud steamed. His gloved hand clenched the phone so hard, it was a wonder it didn't snap in two.

Kadaj looked down at the girl beside him, who was tied to a chair and completely unaware of her situation. "She's unconscious."

Cloud swallowed hard. "Why are you doing this? What does she have to offer you?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Yes it is!" Cloud shouted into the phone.

"Well then, I'll just be going now. Congratulations on winning the game. Marlene is yours again. But Tifa is mine."

Kadaj hung up the phone.

Cloud stood frozen in place for a few moments, the entire room staring at him. They were clearly stunned by his emotional reaction to all this. Clearly this wasn't the same Cloud who left them a year ago. This Cloud was desperately in love with Tifa.

And that love was being tested so severely that it would be a wonder if either of them made it through this crisis intact.

Tifa woke up abruptly when a great, cold sensation overwhelmed her. She gasped and nearly leapt out of her seat, hair dripping from the ice-cold water Kadaj had dumped on her to awaken her. At her moment of awakening, a few things came to Tifa's mind.

One was that her hands were tied being her back and she was sitting on a chair. She was a hostage to Kadaj, who was standing right in front of her. And he had just heartlessly dumped frigid water all over her to get her conscious again.

Another was that he lied to her about Marlene. Kadaj had promised she would go home with her, but obviously that didn't happen. And it was never going to happen, considering her current situation.

The third thing she realized was that she knew this place. Her old bedroom in Nibelheim.

Kadaj had a sick sense of humor.

"Where's Marlene?" Tifa whispered, her voice sounding hoarse. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Marlene is at home, with your friends."

Kadaj said it so naturally that Tifa believed him. However, he didn't answer the second question. Tifa wasn't sure what was going on here, but she was very frightened. Despite her confidence in her martial-arts skills, she knew she couldn't overtake Kadaj—especially not when she was already drugged and tied to a chair.

"Why am I here?" Tifa asked again.

Kadaj smiled at her warmly before kneeling on the ground in front of her, staring her right in the eye. Tifa shivered slightly at the coldness in his eyes, heartbeat rising at a quick rate.

"Sephiroth…we're bringing him back."

Tifa froze for one moment, but then regained her composure. "Alright…what does that have to do with me?" She didn't believe it was possible for this to happen, but the tone of voice Kadaj spoke in assured her that he was completely serious about this topic.

"Tifa, right to the point," Kadaj exclaimed, impressed. "You're here because he needs a home body. And unfortunately, after my…last encounter, I realize that my body is no longer a suitable host. It can't handle all of Sephiroth's extraordinary power."

"…what about your brothers?" Tifa inquired softly. She did not like where this was going…

"They're too weak as well. We've been working for a while now, and I have noticed their bodies will not be able to withstand all the mako needed in the body's system to sustain Sephiroth." Kadaj waited for Tifa to respond, but when she didn't, he moved on. "You, however…you've survived the lifestream before. Without even a tiny bit of mako poisoning! And after watching you in battle, I've seen your stamina and physical strength." He smiled before continuing.

"You, Tifa Lockhart, are going to become the new and permanent Sephiroth."

Tifa shook her head furiously. "No. That'll never happen. Sephiroth is dead…gone for good. No matter what you do to bring him back, it won't work."

Kadaj smiled. "Then you won't mind if I try it anyway, would you?" He reached out and grabbed something off Tifa's old desk—a needle, filled with a glowing green substance. Mako.

She gasped and squirmed in her seat. "No…"

His malicious grin spread. "Yes," he said, inserting the needle into her arm. He pushed out all the mako and then took his needle back. The strong substance would course through her veins, and most definitely overpower her. At least for the time being, anyway—once she got used to it, she would be able to handle it in larger doses.

A few moments after this first injection, Tifa faded again into unconsciousness.


	16. Chapter 15: Where to Look?

**A/N: So sorry it took me so long to post this, guys; life has been kind of hectic lately. I promise, I'm going to try and pick up the pace with my posts. **

**And another apology: this chapter is pretty short. But if I feel like it, I may post then next one sooner than usual to make up for that. ;D Of course, comments help with me posting chapters sooner (hint hint). **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything FFVII.**

Chapter 15: Where to Look…?

Cloud and his friends sat in silence for a while, mourning. A sensible person would ask why they were mourning if Tifa were still alive, but they all knew something that a normal person wouldn't: there wasn't a great chance Tifa would make it out of this alive. That impacted Cloud the most, sending him into a stunned silence.

"Cloud," Reeve started quietly. The blond warrior looked up at him across the table and made eye contact, letting him know he was listening. "Was there any background noise in the phone call you received? Anything that could help us?"

He shook his head slightly. "I…don't know…I…I think I heard the floor creak once. And it sounded like it was a bit windy. Either that, or there was a machine nearby outside."

Nanaki sat up more in his seat at the table. "So, there is still hope," he said optimistically. "We won't let them keep Tifa without a fight."

"Yeah, it's like they totally forgot what we're capable of!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping out of seat. "We'll get Tifa back right away and kick their butts! And there's nothing they can do to stop us."

"Right," Vincent said in agreement. His statement seemed to put a spell on the room, everyone turning to look at him. Since when had he sided with Yuffie so openly? Cloud looked the man in the eye, but Vincent broke eye-contact, his cheeks reddening slightly.

Barret destroyed the silence, completely unaware of the awkward state it had been in before. "So, what'll we do to start the search?"

"Yeah, we're not going to just fly over any place that could fit Cloud's description, right?" Cid inserted, not using a swear word because of the presence of a little girl in the room.

Reeve shook his head. "Heavens, no," he said. "That would take far too long. I'll go to the library and look up places that could be it. I'd appreciate it if you two-" he nodded to Vincent and Yuffie "—would come with me and help narrow things down."

Yuffie nodded emphatically. "Absolutely."

"Whatta 'bout the rest of us?" Barret asked.

"Stay here and discuss everything we know about Kadaj and his gang. We need to figure out what to expect."

"Cid, pretty soon, I want you to take Marlene to Shera and Denzel," Cloud randomly inserted.

"What?" Marlene cried out. "I want to help!"

"You did help," Cloud said calmly. "You told us that Tifa was gone. If you hadn't, we may not have found out until a lot later."

"But that's not good enough!" she said stubbornly. "Tifa's still gone. And she's gone because Kadaj told her to come and get me!"

"There's nothing more you can do, Marlene. Please, try to understand. This is a lot more dangerous than you realize."

"But-"

"Cloud's right, Marlene," Barret interrupted softly. "I won't let you get near this again; I'm not losing you to Kadaj again." The burly man looked as if he were fighting tears, which ended Marlene's argument. She silently nodded, giving in.

"Cloud," she said calmly. "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

The man responded with a nod, rising out if his chair. Marlene got out of her seat as well and grabbed onto Cloud's hand. It was funny how she could act so old sometimes and yet still be so innocent. This was the Marlene that he remembered from a year ago.

The two exited the room and stood in the hall, the area pretty empty. But apparently, that wasn't good enough for Marlene. She kept her grip on Cloud's hand and escorted him outside, where the air wasn't too hot or too cold—it was comfortable.

"Cloud, you've got to save her," Marlene finally said, stopping him where he was. "I didn't want to come home like this. If she's hurt, it's because of me!"

"Marlene," Cloud said calmly, kneeling down in front of the girl. He looked her in the eye, seeing all the emotions stirring inside her soft, naïve eyes. "None of this is your fault—Kadaj is the one who started this. Nobody has any control over this situation, much less you."

The little girl nodded faintly, avoiding Cloud's gaze for a moment. "Hey," Cloud whispered gently. He lifted Marlene's chin gently so he could have eye-contact with her again. "Believe me; I'm going to get her back."

Marlene nodded again, looking down at the hand she still held. "You love her, don't you?" The girl was wise beyond her years, much like a person she resembled. Aerith.

Now it was Cloud's turn to nod. "Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, I love her with all my heart."

"Good," Marlene said with a smile. "That means you'll do whatever it takes to get her back, right Cloud?"

He nodded in agreement. "That's right."

Marlene's small smile stayed on her lips for a few more moments, but then it faded. "Cloud…what do you think is going on with Tifa? Is she gonna be okay?"

Cloud set a hand on the girl's shoulder in a fatherly way. "Of course she'll be okay," he said softly. "Tifa's not giving up without a fight. And besides-" he gave Marlene a wink "—she won't be fighting long, because I'm going to find her and bring her home."

Marlene smiled, pleased with Cloud's answer. "Mmhmm."


	17. Chapter 16: Escape?

**Surprise! I'm giving you guys a new chapter after only a week's wait. =) It's just as a little "thank you" for those of you who have been patient enough to wait for my updates and stick with the story. So thanks, everyone! Enjoy, and keep reviewing; it really helps me have the motivation to write.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Again. **

Chapter 16: Escape?

Days went by. Days of absolutely nothing. Nothing except mako injections and passing out for Tifa. Each morning she would eat breakfast and then get an injection. Then, if she was lucky, she would wake up about an hour before dinner and then have another meal. And then another shot. And then she was out until morning.

With the weakness the mako created in her, she couldn't do anything. Not really, anyway. She did do one thing in secret when she was awake, and that was writing. There was still paper and pen in the desk of her old bedroom, and so she wrote about a paragraph each sitting before she went to lie down. Not because she was too tired to write, but because she was planning her escape. And to escape, she would need all the strength she could muster.

It was dinner time on the third day when she first came up with the idea to pretend to have the starting symptoms of mako-poisoning. Because of her "sickness", Kadaj didn't give her a shot that night. He said something about wanting to see if things would get worse or not. And if they didn't, then they would continue the process at the same pace.

Now, Tifa knew by the fourth evening that she couldn't get away with missing any more mako shots. Yazoo promised that she would get her next one in the morning. Tifa knew one thing for certain about these men: they didn't make commitments they didn't intend to keep.

Around 1:00 AM, Tifa climbed out of her bed. First, she went to her desk, where she had left the note she had been working on for the past four days. She put it in a safe place—a place that only one or two people would know to look. And then she slipped on her black shoes and moved to the window, taking extra care to open it quietly.

True, she was on the second floor of the building. But she had survived much larger falls before. If she could catch herself quickly and quietly, then she was pretty much home free. At least, she hoped that would be the case. She had no clue if Kadaj or somebody else would be awake keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior.

But at this point, it didn't matter. Tifa had to escape. It was either that or death. Her body couldn't handle more mako—it just couldn't. Each time she had it, it felt like her body was absolutely burning. It wasn't a burn like anything she had ever felt before. It literally felt like it was eating at her flesh. The pain was unbearable, and that was why she passed out each time they gave her an injection.

A soft grunt left Tifa's lips as she finished prying the window open. The cool night air greeted her. It sent a chill through her body, both in excitement and chilliness. Freedom at last!

She climbed out and slowly slid herself down the angled roof before silently jumping down, making a smooth landing on the ground outside the house. She looked around in case anyone was watching her. Nope—nobody in sight. She couldn't help but let a smile appear on her lips. _Yes! Yes! I'm home free!_

A door near the edge of the small town creaked open, making her feel a sudden sense of dread. That was her exit path! She silently ran up the hill and towards the mansion, moving past it and into the one region she knew best: The mountains. She ran the first few steps on the mountain path but then slowed to a jog, her footsteps too loud otherwise.

Tifa turned around as she cautiously moved forward, but there was nothing behind her. Only a few streetlights on in the town, and that were what dimly lit her path now. She had to admit, she did not like taking this path at night. Even if she knew it like the back of her hand, it was still a dangerous route.

She moved through the shadows and made it across the winding path to the first mountain without any incidents. True freedom!

"You think we'd let you get away that easily, Miss Lockhart?"

Tifa whirled around at the voice, her hands instinctively turning into fists. Her heart dropped when, in the faint moonlight, she recognized the figure staring her down from about five feet back. Kadaj.

"Well, one can always hope," Tifa responded, trying to hide her shock and anxiety. _I gotta find a way out of this…_she thought desperately. She doubt she could take Kadaj on in a fight—after all, Cloud had a hard time defeating him at one point. And Tifa was much weaker due to the experiments they had performed on her the past few days.

She left her hands by her side and took a few steps back, aware that she was only a few feet away from making a sharp turn into a cave. Maybe, somehow, she could lose Kadaj in there.

Two hands on her upper arms made her forget that plan, though. "Where do you think you're going?" Loz whispered in her ear, his voice practically laughing. Tifa moved out of his grasp quickly and spun around, giving him a roundhouse kick to the face. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would have laughed at Loz's facial expression.

"Stupid!" Loz cried, lifting a hand to his face. "You really think there's a point to running? You can't get away! You're weak…spent. Worthless!"

"Says you!" Tifa spat, lifting a fist. She went to strike Loz, but he stepped back and avoided the blow without a problem. It wasn't like Tifa to miss such an easy hit, but in a sense, Loz was correct. She was pretty spent from the mako. "Stand and fight me!"

"Why?" Loz retorted.

"Because I want my freedom!" Tifa cried out, running the two steps between her and Loz. She punched him in the gut with a mighty fist and then kicked his legs out from underneath him, forcing him to the ground. She leapt over him before he could recover, the woman hoping that Kadaj was in too much shock to try and attack her. "You won't keep me here anymore! You won't use me for your own purposes!"

"But we will," Yazoo said, stepping out of the shadows in front of Tifa. She stopped and stood still, surprised but not shocked.

"Yazoo; what a surprise," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Of course all the brothers would show up to stop her. It had been ridiculous to assume anything differently.

"I thought it would be," he responded apathetically. "Now, will you come back willingly or are you going to put up a fight?"

"What do you think?" she shouted, her voice echoing through the mountainous region. "Of course I'm going to fight! What do I have to lose?"

"You honestly think you can defeat all three of us?" Kadaj asked, his question forcing Tifa to turn around. When she didn't answer right away, the silver-haired man continued speaking. "Why can't you just accept your destiny? It wasn't that hard when you went to save the world from Sephiroth. What's stopping you now?"

"You don't define my destiny. That's _my _job," Tifa said, taking a few steps toward him. "Do what you may to me, but I refuse to believe that my fate is to bring Sephiroth back into the world. I can't do it. I **won't **do it!"

Loz took a step forward, having recovered from Tifa's little "attack" only a few seconds after she had completed it. He set a hand on her shoulder, the girl facing away from him when he performed the action. "You don't have a choice," he stated softly.

"Yes, I do!"

The sound of footsteps on the mountain made all four of them fall silent. They all turned to face the source of the noise, Tifa turning last. To her shock and joy, a man rounded the corner and came out of the mountain cave entrance she had been trying to get to. It looked like a hiker to her. Honestly, she didn't care as long as he could assist her somehow.

"Everything alright here?" he asked innocently. He looked from the three men and then to Tifa, who was shaking her head faintly. Familiarity struck him, making his eyes widen. "Hey…You're Tifa Lockhart!"

Tifa sucked in a breath and took a step toward the stranger, in awe. How did he know who she was? She doubt it was through the bar; most people there just knew her by her first name. But how else could he know her?

"There's a ton of people looking for you," he continued taking a step forward as well. "What's the guy's name….Strife. Cloud Strife, he's the one leading things. And a crew of other people." The climber paused, then looking from Tifa to the other three men within eight feet of each other. Obviously, as he looked over all of them, he realized that they were holding her there. "And they're…"

Yazoo suddenly lifted his gun and pulled the trigger, shooting the man through the heart before he could utter the words. Tifa screamed in surprise and took a step back, Kadaj taking advantage of the moment and grabbing her shoulders. The poor hiker fell off the side of the mountain and into the dark abyss, never to be seen again.

Tifa whirled around and brought up a hand, slapping Kadaj across the face. "You…**MONSTERS**!" she cried in outrage. She was just about to deliver another blow when two strong hands pulled her back and spun around before she was forced face-down on the ground.

"Hey Yazoo, look at this!" Loz laughed, bending down over his catch. He held her wrists being her back and her ankles in two hands, keeping her from moving at all. "Just like a pig!" If he had some rope, he would really hogtie her. But not now—it would be too hard to carry her back in a curled up position like that.

Tifa squirmed in his grasp, hearing the three brothers laughing in her ear. She eventually stopped struggling as tears of frustration fell. There was no escaping this.


	18. Chapter 17: Nibelheim

**Hey loyal readers…I figured I should update this story. I need to be honest, though, I'm really not feeling encouraged with this story. I'm not getting many reviews, and I've lost the motivation to keep writing this. However, I will keep writing, but how often I update it will depend on how many reviews I get. **

**Disclaimer- I don't own FF. Shocking, I know, but I don't own a thing. **

Chapter 17: Nibelheim

By the fourth day, Cloud Strife knew that there was only one place where Tifa could have been taken. He and his party had flown around the globe inspecting places that seemed suspicious to them, but now, being left with no choices, Cloud knew the truth. And what was that truth? The truth was that Kadaj had a very sick sense of humor. That's what he knew.

Tifa was in her old home, Nibelheim.

"Cid, land this ship!" he said, speaking to the pilot as the two of them stood in the cockpit. He wanted to get out and get Tifa right away. He hadn't even formulated a plan as to how he would fight off Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo while rescuing Tifa at the same time, but he knew a person could do insane things when they were in love.

And he definitely fell under that group. He was insanely in love with her. After all the years of denying it, he finally saw the depth of his care for her. After this was over, he was going to hold her and cherish her like he should have from the first time he saw her. He would make up for lost time and give her more love than any other man could.

When the ship grounded, Cloud snapped out of his thoughts. The first thing he had to do was get her back; then he could worry about the rest of their lives together. He ignored his friends' stares as he passed by them in the hall, all of them apparently wondering what they were supposed to do. It was hard sometimes, being a leader. This time, he shoved off the responsibility and left them to ponder their thoughts.

He ran down the path without hearing anyone else behind him. And then he headed right into town, knowing the first place he would check. Stealth didn't matter here; after all, it was the middle of the day. Speed and strength. That was what it would take to get Tifa back. He planned on doing just that.

The town was empty, but that wasn't anything new. The place had been that way ever since the incident where Sephiroth burned down the whole town. Even with Shin-Ra's cover up, the town was still pretty empty. These were meaningless details to him, so he didn't take anything in. Most importantly, there weren't any threats.

Not yet, anyway.

He hurried over to Tifa's old home and turned the knob with his left hand. His right hand was on the sword that was on his back, the blond ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Twisted the knob. Unlocked.

He pushed it open roughly, the door hitting the wall when he moved too quickly and too strongly. There was one thing he hadn't expected about this place: it was completely empty.

There was obviously no threat here. If Kadaj was here, he would have had at least one of his brothers downstairs to guard the door. Seeing that nobody was there, Cloud suddenly felt very desperate. Where were they? This was the one place they could have gone, and yet the place was deserted.

"Tifa?" he cried, taking a few more steps inside. The door naturally shut behind him, though he hardly noticed that. He scanned the area, but just like the first sweep he had performed, there was nothing. "Tifa!"

Ignoring the thoughts of caution that ran through his mind, he hurried up the stairs. His hand wasn't even on his sword anymore. The emotions were getting the better of him, and he was allowing them to distort his senses. None of it mattered as long as he didn't have Tifa.

He reached the top of the stairs and turned to the left, kicking open a closed door. "Tifa!"

Tifa wasn't there. He stumbled over toward her bed, his face pale with shock. "No," he muttered. He knelt down by the bed and set a hand on the sheets, despair overwhelming him. "No, no, no…" He subconsciously gripped the sheets in his gloved hand, which brought them closer to him. His eyes moved over the area, and then he noticed something on one of the white pillows: a piece of long black hair.

_So, Tifa __**was**__ here,_ he thought, sensible logic momentarily covering up his unstable emotions. He looked over everything on the bed, seeing that it had faint signs of recent use. He stood himself up numbly and looked around, his eyes landing on the piano. He aimlessly walked toward it, stopping when he was directly in front of him.

Without thought, he bent down slightly and set his fingers on the key. He had never taken lessons, but Tifa had. And there was one thing she had always played. He was so familiar with it, that he briefly wondered if he could replay it. He played the first two keys but messed up, but then went through the rest playing the correct keys.

_Do…Re…Mi…Ti…La, Do…Re…Mi…So…Fa…Do…Re…Do_

The moment he took his finger off the last key, he heard a clicking noise. His ears perked up at the sound, the warrior suddenly concerned that perhaps he wasn't alone. But another look around the room confirmed that he was indeed by himself. When he looked back at the piano, he saw that one of the keys had popped out, resulting in that clicking noise. Confusion swept over him until he noticed something peculiar about the key. He gripped it gingerly with his index finger and his thumb and then lifted it up, gasping when it was out of the way.

Something was hidden underneath the key. A letter.

He dropped the piano key on the ground and reached forward, gripping the paper delicately between his thumb and his index finger. He unfolded it quickly and began to read it, ignoring the racing of his heart as he tried to logically read the letter.

_Cloud,_

_If you've found this letter, I guess that means that I'm not here anymore. I mean, what need would you have to play my piano if I were actually here in my room? I hope you read this someday soon, because you need to know what's going on. _

_But first, is Marlene safe? I guess you can't really answer that until you see me face to face, but please let her know I knew what I was doing something dangerous when I tried to get her back. Kadaj…he called me and asked me if I wanted her back. He told me to meet him somewhere, and when I did, he shot me with some kind of tranquilizer._

_It's worse than that, though. Cloud….they're trying to recreate Sephiroth through me. They're giving me Mako injections, since I was previously immune to the poisoning affects of it. I still am for the most part, but it's really getting to me now. I'm scared, Cloud. I don't know if this will work or if they'll kill me in the process. I hope there's a third option I'm missing, but I can't see it._

_So, since I'm not in Nibelheim anymore, where am I? I couldn't tell you. They've never spoken about moving me some place else. So sorry I can't help…but please, please don't stop looking for me. I need you, Cloud. Please…_

_I'll be strong, and please be strong for me. Maybe someday when this is over, everything will be okay._

_With infinite love,_

_Tifa_

Cloud lowered the letter in his grasp, looking down at it as thoughts invaded his mind. Tifa…Sephiroth…they were total opposites. Tifa was kind and loving while Sephiroth was evil and hateful. He could go on and on with the comparisons, but there wasn't time for that. He didn't believe she could become his worst enemy, but he still didn't want her to suffer the effects from Mako poisoning.

Not only did he not want her to suffer that way, but he also wanted her free from the pain of this situation. First, a girl that was like her daughter was taken away from her, and now she's being abused…tortured by a group of people with evil intent. But even in the face of that, she pledged to be strong. That was the Tifa that he had fallen in love with; she recognized hardship but pressed on anyway.

"That's my girl," he whispered, a very faint smile appearing on his lips at the thought. "Keep being strong, Teef. I'm coming to save you."


	19. Chapter 18: An Old Friend

**I'm actually very excited for this chapter. =) It took a while to write, but it turned out spectacular. **

**But before you jump into it, I have some things to say. First off, thanks to my loyal readers for sticking with this. I really do appreciate it! Secondly, I just recently published a new story related to Kingdom Hearts, and I would LOVE it if more people read it. Is this shameless advertising? You bet!**

**But I'll stop advertising and let you get reading now, so enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter Eighteen: An Old Friend

After Tifa had been recaptured by Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, they took her to a new location. They didn't explain why, only saying that the constant movement makes the game more interesting for them. Tifa thought that it was ridiculous, but of course, her opinion didn't count. Just one day after her attempted escape, they injected her with a large amount of Mako and then they were off to their new location (wherever that was).

Sticky air, warm temperatures, creaky wooden floors…these were the only things that Tifa had that could inform her about her current whereabouts. But that still didn't let her know for sure where she was; obviously there were many places with that kind of weather.

Another thing that would have helped her identify her location was a window in her room. But there were none—it was four walls and a door. There wasn't even a bed in there that she could use, only a few sheets. _A surprisingly warm gesture for a group of purely evil men who are bent on unleashing terror upon the world,_ she mused, the thought not making any smile or hint of amusement appear on her lips.

She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was afraid. If their plan succeeded, then Sephiroth would be able to wreak havoc upon the entire world. Cloud and her other friends could probably stop him, but what then? Would Tifa return as herself, or would she be killed too? There was no way to tell, considering that this had only ever happened on one other occasion, with one other person. Kadaj. And he had returned only to die. Was this her fate too?

A loud bang broke her out of her thoughts, the young woman opening her eyes despite the pitch blackness of the room that she was locked in. _What was that?_

A scream followed after that, one that sounded both enraged and terrified at the same time.

"**Brother!" **

Tifa struggled to comprehend what was happening outside of her room, the Mako in her system making her feel incredibly weak and in a daze. She attempted to sit herself up as if to focus her mind, but she fell back down onto her side, lying on the wooden floor uncomfortably.

The door muffled the sounds, but she heard a few more sounds. She had heard them before on so many occasions, but now, they seemed foreign. _What…?_

A booming sound filled Tifa's ears and a light poured into the room, making Tifa wince. She furrowed her brows and shut her eyes tightly out of instinct, though her mind was now screaming at her to look and see what was happening.

Finally, Tifa complied, opening her eyes just in time to see a figure in black rushing over to her position on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Tifa saw that the door had been kicked open. That must have been what triggered the loud "boom" she had heard before.

A hand gently brushed over her long brown hair, bringing it out of her face. She shut her eyes in weakness, recognizing the gentleness behind the gesture. But her mind was too cloudy; she couldn't identify who was with her.

"Tifa," the man murmured, kneeling down beside the person he loved. Desite the fact that Tifa didn't recognize who was with her, she felt reassured that the fact didn't really matter at the time, ant it was alright. The man turned her slightly and put an arm behind her back, gently holding her in his lap. Tifa exhaled a breath, trying to find a way to thank this person for saving her. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but wonder about Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Where were they?

"Let's get you out of here, hmm?" the unnamed man asked gently, bringing up his free hand to stroke Tifa's hair once again.

"I can't move," she mumbled, weakness in her voice.

"Yes, you can," he responded softly. "C'mon, I'll help you."

Tifa nodded, realizing that she had to at least try to stand. The Mako was having an effect on her, but hopefully it would wear off soon. She wanted to be coherent enough to thank the man who risked his life getting to her, the man who was being so kind and supportive and everything she needed at that moment.

She set her hands on the ground and opened her eyes a crack, seeing the hardwood floor and the man's black pants. She started to push herself up at the same time as the man slid his hands under her arms, lifting her to her feet. Though she felt dizzy at first, she recovered only a few seconds later with the help of her savior. She wrapped an arm over his shoulders and he wrapped his around her lower back, supporting her as they exited the room that had previously been her prison.

In the next room, Tifa couldn't help but get an answer to her question about Kadaj's whereabouts. A startled gasp left her lips as she looked around, seeing Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo all lying dead, scattered across the room. Kadaj and Yazoo had bullets to the head; Loz had one to the heart.

"Look away, Lovely," the man said gently, not wanting Tifa disturbed about what occurred. The brown haired girl nodded faintly, looking straight down at the ground as she walked. _Now I know what happened,_ she thought to herself, wishing she had only been told what had occurred instead of seeing it with her own eyes.

A few steps later, she felt the sun hit her, along with humid, hot air. She took in a breath, enjoying it much more than the stuff, moist air that had been inside the house._ I'll never have to go back there_, will I? she wondered, her mind just beginning to come out of its fog. Still, the Mako was having an effect on her mind, and she doubt that would disappear too quickly.

"Where are we going?" she managed to say, keeping her head lowered as she looked at the dusty ground.

"Somewhere safe," her rescuer responded softly, continuing to help Tifa walk along the path. He kept his arm around her lower back and her arm around his shoulders, the man holding her wrist so that he could support her. He knew about the affects of Mako poisoning, and he didn't need to be told that the Mako was what was affecting Tifa at that moment.

"Where's that?" Tifa asked, wanting more details. "Where are we now?" She swallowed and shut her eyes, completely relying on the man to guide her on the walkway. She was so tired; she didn't know if she could take another step.

There was a pause in the conversation before he answered her, the man keeping his eyes forward. "We're in Coasta Del Sol," he responded, tone sounding very factual. "I'm taking you to the outskirts. We'll get out of the dust and sand and away from the building we were just at while the Turks take care of the bodies."

"Turks?" Tifa murmured, confused. What did the Turks have to do with this?

The rest of the walk was silent, the two of them reaching the outskirts after about twenty minutes. As they got closer to their destination, Tifa fought off the Mako poisoning enough to look around a little. However, she couldn't turn her head to look at the man assisting her, so his identity remained a mystery to her.

"Sit down, Lovely," he murmured, starting to help her sit down by kneeling down himself. They were on a hillside, where a bunch of seat-sized rocks were laying on the ground. Once Tifa was seated, he gently released her wrist and pulled back his own arm, kneeling down in front of her. "Look at me now," he said gently, gazing at the brown haired woman.

Tifa lifted her head, opening her eyes fully to look at the man directly in front of her. She blinked when his face was revealed, her mind clear enough that she finally saw his identity. "Rude?"

"You okay?" Rude asked softly, bringing up a hand to sweet Tifa's bangs out of her eyes. "You went through Hell, didn't you?"

The girl nodded faintly, feeling tears of relief and heartbreak appear in her eyes. "I did," she confessed, biting her lip and diverting her gaze at the same time. She didn't want to speak about that, though, especially not now. She looked back up at Rude, changing the subject a little bit. "How did you know where I was?"

"I've been on vacation here," Rude responded calmly, voice monotone as always. "I was out at night taking a walk, and I saw them bringing you in. And…well, I wasn't just about to let them get away with everything that they were planning. I called for backup, but I knew that you couldn't wait, so I went in on my own."

_Wow. Rude was strong enough to kill all three of them by himself and not take a single blow,_ Tifa thought, eyes showing her awe.

Rude smirked sheepishly, shrugging a little bit. "I surprised them with a smoke bomb and then just shot at them. You probably didn't notice the random bullets in the walls." He laughed slightly, clasping his gloved hands in his lap. "I was nervous."

Tifa laughed, a smile appearing on her lips for the first time in a while. "Rude? Nervous? Wow." He was always calm and composed in her eyes, even after everything that happened.

"Yeah, well…" He brought up a hand and ran it over his smooth head, taking off his sunglasses so that he could look her in the eye. "That's what happens when you're deathly afraid for somebody you love," he said softly, his burning love shining in his eyes.

"Rude," Tifa said gently, shaking her head. "I told you before; I don't love you like that. You're a friend, like a protective big brother. I'm sorry, but we can never be anything else. You know that, don't you?" She hated to have to tell him this, but she really did mean what she told him when she ended their relationship; nothing could ever come out of what they had.

"Tifa!" a new voice shouted, one that was immediately recognizable.

The young woman gasped, jumping to her feet as her face lit up with joy. "Cloud!" she cried, looking down the hill and seeing Cloud, Nanaki, and Reeve running up to meet her. In the far, far distance, she could see Cid's airship. Of course, Cloud was the only thing that mattered now. She smiled widely, taking a step forward but not running down the hill in fear that she would run out of strength and trip and fall.

Cloud and company made it to the top pretty quickly, the blonde's face lit with concern, relief, and joy at the same time. Tifa felt her expression match his (excluding the concern) as they stood facing each other several feet away.

"Cloud," she said, still smiling at the sight of him. He was here with her…it was all over. It was finally over. Nobody was going to hurt her now—the threat was completely gone with Kadaj and his crew out of the way.

She took a step forward but then felt herself being restrained, an arm going over her upper torso and pulling her close to the person behind her. She gasped and turned her head, recognizing the grip around her. "Rude?"

"Rude! What're you doing?" Cloud protested, taking a step forward. He had been leery of trusting the Turk, but Rude had called them here to get Tifa. Why was he doing this? He looked to Tifa and saw her eyes glowing from the Mako, fear in the brown depths of her eyes.

"If I can't have, then you can't either!" Rude shouted, pulled her back a step and closer to his body.

"What're you going to do?" Cloud demanded again, anger coming through in his voice. "You rescued her, and now you're holding her against you. What good is this going to do you?" His irritation and disgust were apparent on the outside, but on the inside, his heart was beating irregularly, fear and disbelief swelling over the person who was being held in front of his very ey es.

Rude pulled out a gun, holding it against Tifa's temple. "Shut up!" he hollered. "And don't you dare come any closer, Strife!" Her life was in his hands now, and though he wouldn't hurt her, the threat was real enough for Cloud to obey and take a step back. "Like I said, if I can't have her, then nobody can!"

Tifa took in a breath, feeling the cool barrel of the gun against her temple. She had felt before, but never as strongly as she did then, looking into Cloud's shining blue eyes. "Cloud?" she cried, fear in her voice.

The Turk pulled her back, into a helicopter that had actually been there the entire time. Tifa hadn't noticed it before due to her Mako poisoning, but she noticed it now with the loud roaring of the chopper. He was taking her away, away from the person she loved more than anything. And he was making him watch it happen, causing him heartbreak. Rude forced her to take a step up into it, though his grip was tight enough to make sure she didn't slip out of his grasp.

She stepped up into the chopper unwillingly, staring at Cloud, who was immobilized because of the gun to her head. Nanaki and Reeve stood there as well, but her eyes stayed on Cloud, and his on hers. "Cloud!" she cried again, though she wasn't sure she could be heard over the roaring helicopter. The machine rose up to the air, lifting off the ground.

Cloud took a step forward, reaching a hand toward the helicopter in panic. "Tifa!" he screamed, all his emotions coming through in his voice. He stood by and watched helplessly as the love of his life and the helicopter carrying her disappeared off into the distance, leaving him with only a broken heart.


	20. Chapter 19: No Giving Up

**Gah, sorry for the wait, guys. Seriously, I haven't been working on this story at all lately. =/ School is keeping me busy, and so is my KH story (which you all should read). But again, I want to thank you guys for sticking with the story. Please review! **

Chapter 19: No Giving Up

For the helicopter ride, Rude didn't bother blindfolding Tifa to keep their location from her. This only proved to her that Rude was very determined that she wouldn't ever get away from him. Not alive. This scared her deeply, for she had never seen her ex-boyfriend angry before. But now, being held at gunpoint, she saw how deeply enraged he was at her for not loving him. Not only that, but she could see how furious he was at Cloud, who did receive her love. Those things factored together created a rage so great that Tifa couldn't even look at him in fear of seeing that anger boil over.

Throughout the flight, Tifa tried to keep track of where they were flying. However, due to the Mako poisoning, she passed out after they passed over a bit of water. She was unconscious for hours after that, and during that time, her hands were bound behind her back. Rude may have been acting impulsive, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Tifa was a brilliant fighter and he would have a challenge subduing her.

The Turk looked to his prisoner when the helicopter landed on the ground, and he knelt down by her position on the floor. "Wake up," he ordered, shaking her shoulder. He didn't care about gentleness anymore; she had her chance to accept him. Now she would belong to him, whether she liked it or not.

Tifa opened her eyes groggily, seeing Rude staring at her behind his sunglasses. She tried rising to her feet, but she couldn't do it alone, so Rude gripped her arm and pulled her up, then leading her out of the flying device. She recognized the area as a cliff-side near Gongaga, overlooking a river.

"What're you going to do now, Rude?" she asked looking at him as they walked. When he didn't respond, she stopped in her place, glaring at him. "You know that taking me away was stupid. You're not going to hurt me."

"You don't know anything, Tifa," he said coldly. Even though she brought up some good points, he wasn't about to admit that to her. He would just ride out her scolding and then…well, he didn't know what would happen then. He had no clue what was going to happen.

"Oh, I don't?" she asked sarcastically, fingering the rope that tied her hands behind her back as she spoke. "Why don't you make things more clear for me, then? What are you planning on doing with me?" Her voice was hard, and no fear was present now. She was taking her stand, and she wasn't about to cower in fear of the man who had to hold a gun to her head to force her into submission. It was a cowardly move, and she had no respect for Rude anymore.

"It doesn't matter what I'm planning on doing," Rude responded. "You belong to me now, and that will never change."

"Why's that?" Tifa pressured. "Why won't that change? You won't force me to stay with you by hurting me, so how do you plan on making that happen?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you with me!" he boomed, furious. "You have the nerve to stab me in the heart, and then the moment Strife returns, you go running into his arms? How stupid can you be? He doesn't love you! He** left** you!"

"He left** for **me!" Tifa cried out, defending the person she loved. "I wasn't willing to accept it at first, but now I see that he was actually looking out for me. He was wrong for leaving, but his heart was in the right place!"

"He's a selfish coward, and a liar!" Rude hollered, clenching his fists as he stared at Tifa a few feet behind him. She was infuriating him now, defending such a stupid person. How could any man be so stupid and leave somebody as precious as Tifa? He would never forgive Strife for causing her that heartache—never.

"You're one to talk!" she spat, outraged at his hypocrisy. "You kidnap me and hold me at gunpoint, right after you say you love me! How can you justify this?"

Rude stepped forward, lifting a hand and slapping Tifa across the face. "Shut up!" he screamed in fury, staring at the girl he used to call his life-long love.

Tifa finished messing with the rope around her hands just after Rude slapped her, and she couldn't have thought of a better time to break free. She pulled a hand out of the ropes and turned it into a fist, punching her captor in the jaw. When the blow landed, she grunted and lifted her leg, kicking Rude in the side. When he was out of her way, she ran past him, fumbling to get the rope off her other hand as she ran.

"Get back here!" Rude roared, recovering from the attack quickly. He ran after her, seeing her going for the edge of the cliff. There was a river below, but the fall was too great. There was no way Tifa would risk her life like that. He ran after her and, as he suspected, she stopped at the end of the cliff. "You have nowhere to go," he informed her.

The young woman glanced downward, seeing the river flowing. Unfortunately, Rude was correct; there was no place for her to go now. She had one choice, and she was going to do what was necessary to earn her freedom. She raised her fists and glared at Rude behind furrowed eyebrows, prepared to fight him. If that was what it took, then that was what she would do.

"Hmph." Rude slipped on a pair of gloves, frowning deeply. "You're going to fight me, really?"

"I've been a captive for far too long," Tifa responded evenly. "I've fought back the entire time, and this will be no different!"

"You don't stand a chance against me," he told her. "Have you forgotten about your Mako poisoning?"

Tifa charged forward and the fight ensued, though the conversation continued as well. "Whether I have Mako poisoning or not, I'm fighting! I **will** have my freedom!"

Rude swung at his ex-lover's head, but she dodged the blow as his fury increased. "You had your chance at freedom!" he screamed. "You could have had everything with me, but you threw it all away!"

"A life with you would have been Hell on Earth," she spat, doing a dodge-flip and a kick at Rude. "I didn't see that when we were dating, but I see it perfectly now! You're a monster!"

That was what did it for Rude. He completely lost his temper and released a roar, a punch knocking Tifa right in the jaw. She stumbled backward towards the edge of the cliff, blinking rapidly to try and regain her senses. However, he wasn't done yet. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a sticky patch of a sleep agent, rushing forward and slapping it onto Tifa's arm. Tifa grunted and hit him away, but she was unsteady as it was. A cry left her lips as she fell backwards, off the edge of the cliff and down into the river below.

Rude stepped forward, watching in awe as Tifa fell into the water. He swore under his breath and started running in the other direction, down a path so that he wouldn't lose her to the river. This fight was far from over, and he was very determined to beat her into submission. He looked up at the sky as he ran, seeing an airship landing in the distance. Great; even more hassle. He'd have to hurry and do what he needed to do to get him and his victim to safety.

As Rude ran down the path, Tifa rose out of the freezing cold water, a gasp leaving her lips. _Ouch, that was a hard fall!_ she thought, her whole body aching because of the impact. There was something more to it than that, though—she was tired. Exhausted, really. But this didn't feel anything like Mako poisoning.

_Well, whatever it is, its draining my strength, _she thought weakly, fighting the current to keep herself above the water. She turned her head to the side. _Land. I need to get to land._

Tifa swam over to the side, panting as she dragged herself onto the dirty land. She looked down at her arm and saw the white patch, and she pulled it off immediately. "Great, more drugs," she mumbled putting it on the ground. The drugs must have seeped out of the pouch, through her skin and into her system, because she was so tired that it was dizzying.

The sound of reverberating footsteps filled her ears, and she lifted her head off the ground to turn in that direction. Rude was approaching her, an ugly expression on his face. He began to spin in Tifa's sight, and she realized that the drug was about to take her under._ No…_

A ferocious growl brought Tifa out of her daze a little bit, the young woman looking up and seeing a form leap over her body and in front of her protectively. "Nanaki!" she cried, her voice showing her weakness and injury. It didn't matter to her where he came from; he was there!

"Leave Tifa alone," Nanaki snarled, standing between Rude and his friend. He glared at the man a few feet in front of him, who obviously was feeling threatened because of the look on his face. Rude seemed unwilling to fight him, but Nanaki would be happy to battle him. Of course, he would try and wait as long as possible for that battle to start for Tifa's sake; she was in bad shape, and he couldn't fight and take care of her at the same time. It was a good thing that Cloud and the others were running in their direction, the airship having landed a few minutes ago. But of course, they were still five to ten minutes out; Nanaki was only able to reach Tifa that quickly because of his extraordinary speed.

"Get out of the way, dog," Rude sneered.

"Not a chance," Nanaki growled. "You've done enough damage for one day, don't you think?"

A nasty smirk appeared on Rude's face, the man almost laughing at Red XIII's remark. "Not a chance."

Tifa pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, looking over Nanaki and seeing Rude glaring at her friend. She wanted to say something about leaving Nanaki alone, but her mouth couldn't form the words. She shut her eyes and tried to take in a breath, the effects of the drug starting to wear off do to the dosage being incomplete.

Nanaki lunged at his enemy, a fight beginning. However, before he could deal any really fatal blows, Rude just…ran off. He ran into the woods, and he couldn't have followed him, since he had to protect Tifa. He turned around and sat down in front of her form protectively, able to tell what happened before he came. The animal looked up at the sky and howled, alerting Cloud and the others to what his position was. Tifa was with him, and she was safe.

After all the time that she was gone and all the heartache he and his friends felt for her sake, Tifa was back with him and alright. As long as he was here, then she wouldn't be hurt. He wouldn't allow himself to fail.

But things suddenly changed, a new wind blowing. Nanaki caught onto a scent coming from the woods, and he turned his head in that direction. However, he was too late. A bullet came for him and impacted him in the shoulder, forcing him to release a howl of pain.

Tifa sat up on her knees at that moment, crawling about a foot to get closer to her friend. "Nanaki!" she cried, seeing that he had taken a wound. He eyes wandered to the woods, and she saw a familiar figure inside of them. Rude was coming back! And she wasn't strong enough to fight him, and neither was Nanaki. What were they to do?

"Run, Tifa," Nanaki said, his voice labored with pain. "Run now!"

"I can't leave you!"

"I'll be fine! **Go!**"

Before she fully realized what she was doing, Tifa was up on her feet, running up the length of the river and then jumping over a thin part. She landed safely on the other side of the river and ran into the woods opposite of her location, disappearing into the dark forest.


	21. Chapter 20: Ally

Chapter 20: Ally

When Nanaki told Tifa to run, she obeyed diligently. She ran through the woods and didn't stop, running even when it felt like her legs would give out from underneath her. She couldn't let the Mako or the other drug affect her; she had been given a chance at freedom, and it wasn't about to go to waste.

Even as she ran, though, she couldn't help but be concerned about Nanaki. She had left him by the river, wounded. She hoped he would be alright, and that Rude wouldn't be concerned about her friend. If Rude hurt him, Tifa didn't know what she would do.

There was another thing Tifa thought of, and it was this: it was getting dark out. The trees were already blocking out whatever sunlight was left in the sky, and the shadows the trees created made things even darker than they were already. Honestly, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not; if Rude didn't get lost in the woods, she most certainly would.

She slowed down, performing a small hop over a tree root. She couldn't keep running, for multiple reasons. One was that she was just too tired. The other was that it was getting too dark to see.

Tifa scanned the area, seeing a tree that looked climbable. She lifted her arms and gripped onto a low branch, pulling herself up onto it. The action created a little bit of noise, and she looked around again, feeling paranoid. But at this point, she would have rather have been safe than sorry. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be captured again because she made some stupid mistake that could have been easily corrected.

She climbed up further into the tree, glad that the leaves helped cover her. Unfortunately, though, she could still see the ground from her stopping point. The only reason that this was a bad thing was because if she could see the ground, than anybody down there could see her as well. Not good.

_Should I risk going higher up?_ Tifa thought, considering the option. Even if she did that, though, there wouldn't have been any guarantees. Not only would the risk of falling be greater, but moving now could attract attention, if there was anybody even in the woods. But…how many places could Rude be at once? This was a large area; he couldn't search the whole place. Maybe she should have made a break for it to some town nearby.

_Snap._

Tifa's eyes widened, hearing the snap of a twig down below. She held her breath and watched as somebody appeared in her vision, stopping right by the trunk of her tree. But this person wasn't Rude; she could tell by the outline of hair. Even in the dark, it seemed to light the area on fire. Reno.

_Rude must have called him in to search,_ she thought, eyes wide as she stared at him. He just stood there, not looking up at the tree or looking around the surrounding area. What in the world was he doing? Did he know that she was right there? She was afraid to answer either of those questions, so she didn't bother, deciding to just wait instead.

Reno pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and lifted it to his ear, making a phone call to the person whose name Tifa never wanted to hear again. "Rude, my area's clear," he said into the speaker. Tifa exhaled a silent breath of relief, her body becoming less tense as well at the realization that Reno didn't recognize her presence here. "I'm going to check the area to the north, so don't worry about that." After a few more moments, he snapped it shut and put it back in his pocket.

But he didn't leave the area.

"Tifa," he said in a hushed tone of voice, turning around and looking directly up the tree at her. She didn't respond, shock and anxiety appearing in her brown eyes as she stared down at him. "C'mon, Teef, I'm not the enemy here. I'm here to help."

"Yeah, that's why you're helping Rude search for me," she hissed defensively, though she wasn't completely sure herself what was going on. Why didn't he squeal on her to Rude?

"Appearances, baby, appearances," he said, waving it off. "At least come down and talk to me instead of staying up in the tree where you can throw bird eggs at me."

Tifa rolled her eyes, but she complied, figuring that if Reno threatened her, she could take him down with one swift kick to the face. She landed softly on the ground, her brown eyes staring at him through the darkness of the woods that surrounded them. "What?" she finally asked, hands in fists by her sides.

"Look, Rude's lost his mind if he thinks keeping you hostage is gonna accomplish anything!" Reno exclaimed, though his voice wasn't at his normal volume in case his partner was able to hear them. "I know I'm his partner an' all, but this is ridiculous!"

"Then why are you helping him search for me?" Tifa asked, arching an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Um, because I'm really helping **you**," he said, ignoring Tifa's suspicions. "By telling him I would search the North, I gave you a path to get out of here without being seen by him."

It sounded convincing enough, but…"What's to the North? Where are you sending me?"

"I got a chocobo waiting," Reno responded, almost as if he had been expecting her to ask such a thing. It made sense, though; Tifa wasn't stupid and she sure wasn't gullible at this point. Right now, she was so desperate for freedom, and it was obvious that she wouldn't stop fighting until she received it. "Any other questions?"

"…What's in it for you?"

"What, can't I help out an old friend?" Reno asked, his eyebrows lifting as if he were feeling offended by the words Tifa said. The young woman wasn't fooled, though, so she glared at him until he spoke again. "Well, who's gonna get me beer at Seventh Heaven if you're not there?"

"It all comes down to alcohol?" Tifa said in disgust, frowning at Reno's shallowness. Of course, what else had she been expecting though?

"And hey, I don't wanna get on the bad side of your AVALANCHE friends, either," he said, waving his hands for effect. "They could seriously rough me up."

_Shallow Reno_, Tifa thought to herself, though she wasn't surprised by the man's behavior. Alright, whatever. If he was offering her a way out of this, then she would take it. She had told Rude earlier that she would do absolutely anything for freedom, and she meant what she said. "Fine," she said, thoroughly convinced that Riku wasn't fooling her. "What do I have to do?"

"Head due North," he replied, nodding his head in the right direction. "There's a chocobo waiting."

"What's in the North? Where are we?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Nope," Tifa responded evenly. "I'd still like to know what to expect, though."

"Just keep riding North, even if you encounter more woods," Reno said, his voice showing that he was actually being serious for once. "Your friends will pick you up there, hopefully."

"'Hopefully'?"

"I needed to speak to them about this whole thing." Tifa was about to protest here, but Reno interrupted her. "Look, you're wasting time. If you don't hurry, then you could lose your chance. Go!"

Tifa nodded, taking two steps forward in the right direction before she stopped and looked over her shoulder, seeing a new-found ally looking at her. "Thanks," she said with a nod. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be at this point; she would still be up in the tree and afraid of Rude finding her. She did owe Reno for this, whether she liked to admit it or not.

"No prob," he said with a smirk. "How 'bout a kiss before you go? After all, I am saving your life by doing this."

Tifa turned around, pulling back her fist before she launched it at Reno's jaw. The man didn't even have a chance to react, falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. A soft smile appeared on Tifa's lips as she knelt down, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Reno," she said quietly, giving him that kiss he wanted even though he didn't realize what she was doing. "Have a nice nap."

She turned her head in the right direction and started running towards the north, her eyes staying in that direction even when she had to avoid trees that showed up in her path. She had a real chance here, with nobody on her trail. She would be free!

Not even the tree limbs could stop her or slow her down, the young woman not staying down for long whenever she tripped on the roots of a larger tree. She couldn't see well since it was nighttime, but that wouldn't stop her from reaching that chocobo Reno promised her. But of course, Reno promised her much more than a chocobo.

He promised her freedom.

Before this whole thing, Tifa Lockhart had never thought twice about freedom. It was something that she had naturally—a birth-given right. Along with that liberty, she had the freedom to live however she wanted and to** feel** whatever her heart desired. She could live in the past and feel pain, or she could move forward and feel the joy that was supposed to come with each day. That was her right.

How had she lost sight of it? She hadn't always had such a right; in the days of Sephiroth, she had only been given the choice between fear and bravery. But, she supposed that she had the same choices today. She could have cowered in fear of Kadaj and his threats, or she could have stood up to him, like she did. The same went for Rude.

Life was full of options, and** somebody** had to make those decisions. Tifa was done letting others make those choices for her.

Today, she made her choice. And she chose freedom. And bravery. And love, for herself and for those she held dear to her.

Tifa broke through the last trees of the forest, seeing a chocobo waiting for her, saddled up and ready for her. A cry of joy left her lips as she ran towards it, the girl putting a foot in the stirrup before she climbed on top of it completely. She set a hand on the animal's neck while her other hand went to the reigns. She was ready to go.

"C'mon, girl," she said to the chocobo, giving her a light kick to get her started. The animal did as she requested, starting forward at a light "jog" pace. This would have been faster than a sprint for a human, though, so Tifa was alright with the pace. She didn't know where she was going, anyway. But like Reno said, it didn't really matter as long as she was free.

For a long time, she rode in silence, the sun starting to rise to her side. She couldn't believe it. She must have ridden for hours if the next day was beginning. Where was she supposed to be? Where were her friends?

As if to answer her questions, she turned her head in the opposite direction of the sun, seeing a large van appearing to her left. She almost smiled and called out to them, figuring that it was her friends. But then she saw who was driving the automobile.

Rude.

She groaned in disbelief. _Again? _She never could catch a break, could she? She turned back to her chocobo, tightening her grip on the reigns when she encouraged the animal to go faster. The chocobo went into a print, Tifa leaning over the creature to decrease the wind resistance. They had to break away from Rude! They were in an open area for this part of the journey, and Rude was taking advantage of it by pulling his van closer and closer to her side. No matter how fast the chocobo was, it couldn't outrun a vehicle.

She rode the chocobo harder, knowing that she couldn't fear overworking it right now. If she didn't get away now, she didn't know when she would be able to do it. Her eyes widened when she saw a forest path coming up in front of her, and the opening had a tree branch low enough that her chocobo couldn't get under it. The animal skidded to a halt, and several yards away, Rude's van stopped as well, the driver's door opening.

"C'mon, chocobo, c'mon," Tifa mumbled, trying to lead her into the forest. All she had to do was duck! Why couldn't the animal understand that?

She suddenly felt a hand tug her off the chocobo and she fell onto the ground, landing on one knee because of the force of the tug. Her eyes wandered up to Rude just in time to see him pull back a fist and then throw it at her, knocking her in the jaw and causing her world to turn to black.


	22. Chapter 21: Fire

**Guys, I am pleased to say that this is my best chapter in a very long time. (: I think you'll all enjoy it very much. And even if you don't, review! Constructive criticism rocks.**

**But I am also very busy with school right now, so I can't promise when the next chapter will come. :/ Hopefully in about a month. Until then, enjoy this chapter! **

Chapter 21: Fire

"Vincent, are you ready?" Cloud said into his cell phone, speaking to the man who was hidden in the woods. He himself was standing by his motorcycle, about half a mile off the side of the road that led through the Gongaga woods.

"Ready."

"Do it as soon as you see the van," he ordered then, his eyes glaring at the ground when he spoke.

"I will."

Cloud snapped the phone shut, stuffing it in his pocket without giving Vincent an actual farewell. This was a serious situation, but he finally felt as if he would get Tifa back. When he had arrived and found Nanaki wounded, he was greatly concerned (though he felt guilty that most of his concern was for Tifa). But when he heard what happened, his concern bubbled into rage against Rude. He never gave up, did he?

But Cloud wasn't giving up either. Rude was fighting for his own selfish reasons, and, as weird as it may have felt, Cloud was fighting selfishly as well. Tifa's heart was his, and he was going to win her back. He would save her from the villain, just like he had always desired to do deep inside his heart.

Of course, his selfish motives were backed by righteous reasons-Tifa was the person that he loved, the only person he wanted to spend his life with. And if he wasn't mistaken, she felt the same way about it. It was time that she returned home so that they could really start together, like they should have done a long, long time ago.

The sound of a gunshot rang out, making Cloud snap out of his thoughts. Vincent had followed through on his part of the plan; now it was time for everyone else to move in.

Cloud left his bike where is was and started running, knowing that his bike couldn't work its way through all the trees. Besides, all his allies were on their feet and running for the same destination: Rude's van. Vincent had just blown out one of his tires, so there was absolutely no way that the Turk could escape. He was only concerned that once Rude realized that his tire was shot out and didn't just go flat, he would take drastic action.

That thought made Cloud pick up his pace, about a minute away from the broken-down van. As soon as he and his friends got there, he was going after Tifa. The rest of them could restrain Rude until Cloud had time to deal with him and teach him a lesson. But for now, Tifa came first.

"Cloud!" Yuffie said, meeting up with him as they both kept going forward. Several feet away, Vincent was hopping through the trees, that man having enough agility and balance to launch himself more quickly than he could run.

"There it is!" Vincent called down to them, Rude's van in his vision.

Cloud was the second person to reach the scene, seeing Nanaki already there and sniffing around. "She's in the back!" he reported to Cloud, having caught onto Tifa's scent.

"I got Rude!" Barret said, opening the driver's door and pulling the man out before he could protest. Cloud turned his attention to that and saw that he was unconscious. It was then that Cloud noticed something else important: the van had rammed a tree, and it was badly damaged. Worse than that, though, was the fact that the vehicle was dispelling black smoke.

"What're you waiting for, Cloud? Get her out of there!" Yuffie said, having seen the smoke as well.

Cloud grunted at the remark, taking a step forward before he gripped the handles and turned them, pulling the doors open. Light poured into the vehicle now, revealing what the back of the van looked like. It wasn't empty; there was somebody in there. It was the somebody that he had been longing to hold for ages, but she wouldn't be returning the embrace right now.

"Tifa?" he said, swallowing back his emotion at the sight of her. She was unconscious. It was only unconsciousness, right? Not…? Cloud leaned in, two of his fingers finding the underneath of Tifa's neck. He exhaled a silent breath in relief, feeling her heart beating. She was alive. She was going to be alright.

"Cloud!" Yuffie said again.

Cloud snapped out of his thoughts, slipping one arm behind Tifa's shoulders while the other went under her knees. When he had a secure hold on her, he brought her closer to him, pressing her close against his chest as he backed away from the van that was still releasing black smoke. But now it was releasing something more: fire.

The blond-haired-man backed away with Tifa in his arms, seeing Yuffie, Cid, and Reeve casting Ice spells on the van to dispel the fire. But instead of going down, it grew, starting to consume the rest of the van.

"!*#$," Cid exclaimed a curse, the man backing away from the van a step as he casted another spell. "When that fire reaches the fuel tank, the whole thing is gonna explode!"

"I'm out of magic!" Reeve reported frantically.

Cid let out another curse, no more ice forming when he called upon the spell. "Me too!"

"We've all got to get out of here!" Nananki said anxiously, backing away a few steps as well.

Cloud's eyes widened faintly, the man agreeing. But the fire was spreading so quickly; if it hit the fuel tank while they were still in range of it, then they could all be seriously hurt. At the thought, he looked down at the unconscious girl he loved in his arms. He couldn't let anything happen to her…

"You all go," Yuffie said, casting another Ice spell on the van. "I'll hold it off so it doesn't explode." Even if she couldn't make it out in the end, all of her friends could.

"Good luck," Cloud said to her with a firm nod, receiving one from her in return. Cloud turned and started running in the direction of his motorcycle, all but Yuffie and Vincent following him in that direction since the ship was near there as well.

Yuffie focused on casting another spell to hinder the fire, but then she noticed a presence still near her even when everybody else left. She turned to her left and looked, seeing Vincent standing there and actually looking a bit worried. "Vincent, go!" she said, locking her jaw as she turned to face the burning vehicle again.

"But-"

"Don't argue!" Yuffie snapped, tears appearing in her eyes as she casted Ice again. It wasn't working…"Just go!"

Vincent stood still at his position, making Yuffie both angry and frustrated. She took two steps over and stood on her toes near him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Go," she whispered, shaking her head in sadness. She knew what she had to do, and that was saving her friends. And to think she had only joined them years ago to steal Materia…and now she was saving them.

When Vincent hesitated, Yuffie yelled at him again before she casted her magic on the vehicle again. "**Go**!"

Vincent grunted, whirling around and running off in the direction that everybody else had gone in. And Yuffie was glad.

The heat of the raging fire made her feel like her skin was burning, but her eyes were watery for more reasons than just the smoke that was threatening to suffocate her. When the fire hit the gas tank, the whole thing would explode. And she would be consumed by it.

_I'll go out with a bang_, Yuffie thought sadly, the humor not impressing her right now. There was so much she hadn't done, so many things that she hadn't set right. She couldn't say goodbye to her family and friends in Wutai. She couldn't see Tifa again after all the hard work she went through trying to help rescue her. And she couldn't make Vincent laugh or smile anymore. It was over.

The ninja gasped softly, the fire making a loud cackle when another Ice spell failed to dispel the fire. She had enough magic left to cast just one more spell. After that, it was over. All that she could hope was that her friends got away quickly enough.

The fire finally reached the fuel tank, igniting the whole van in a burst of flames. Not only did it ignite the vehicle, though; it burst into a fiery flame ball, impacting the whole area around it in an explosion.

The only thing that Yuffie was aware of when the van exploded was the fire impacting her and sending her back into a tree, the girl landing on her stomach when she was unable to save herself. Body aching terribly with the pain, she opened her eyes a crack to see the fire engulfing the whole area around her before she shut them again, breathing her last breath.

A young woman awoke in a dark room, the area only lit by a faint light that crept in through the window. She dared to move her fingers lightly against the bed that she was laid on, a light sheet laid over her body. She didn't bother looking around, knowing that the room was too dark for her to see anything clearly enough for her to recognize where she was.

_So familiar,_ she thought, gripping the blankets lightly as she rolled over onto her side. But then she groaned, her body aching. _So stiff…_

She reached up and tucked back some of her black hair, her senses starting to become more keen as she snapped out of the daze that the period of unconsciousness had caused. "What happened?" she murmured, sitting up in bed and folding her arms over her stomach. She was so sore, but why?

Her eyes found the door, and she immediately realized that she should go out and see what was going on. There was no point making her head hurt worse than it already was just wondering about things that she couldn't answer.

At that thought, she sighed, pushing herself up off the bed and stretching a little bit. She was stiff alright, but the pain wasn't as bad as she had feared it would be. The girl walked for the door, pushing it open softly and being greeted by the light of the ship around her. She was in the _Shera_? At that realization, she made a left, knowing the hall well. She blinked at the brightness of a larger room, seeing her friends gathered in that area.

"Yuffie!"

Yuffie Kisaragi nodded faintly, looking over the group in the room. "Hey everyone," she said softly, her voice a little hoarse. She noticed practically the whole gang sitting around on the furniture, Cid, Reeve, Nanaki, Vincent, and Barret. She noticed Cloud and Tifa were missing, but she had so many questions that any concerning them were lost in the back of her mind.

"You okay?" somebody asked.

"…What happened?" Yuffie asked instead, leaning her shoulder against the wall beside her as she waited for an answer.

"The whole thing exploded," Barret said. "You got knocked out."

_It's more than that,_ she instantly thought. "…I was dead," she said with certainty. She remembered losing her grip on her life and accepting death, and yet she was still alive. How…?

"Yeah, you were," Cid said with a grunt, agreeing. "But Vampire-Boy gave ya mouth-to-mouth. That probably scared ya back to life."

Yuffie ignored Cid's second remark, her eyes finding the man who looked like he was trying not to blush. "Vincent?"Did he really do that? He really saved her life?

"…."

"Can we talk?" Yuffie asked, making her tone light so that he wouldn't feel intimidated by her. When he nodded and rose to his feet, she was glad, and a weak smile appeared on her lips before she turned around and started walking in the direction she came from. The room behind her was quiet except for Vincent's footsteps, the man following and trailing her by only a few steps.

Even after Vincent caught up to her, Yuffie kept walking for a little bit, stopping when she felt like they would have enough privacy. She turned around to face him, seeing an expression on his face that she couldn't read. Instead of allowing things to remain awkward, she broke the silence.

"…You saved me."

"Yes, I did," Vincent said with confidence, acting the opposite of how shy he had been earlier in front of everyone.

"How?" Yuffie inquired, wonder in her voice. He had run off when she told him to; he hadn't been there when she was knocked back by the explosion.

"I didn't really leave," Vincent confessed then, his red eyes staring into Yuffie's. "I was lucky enough to find shelter from the blast, and when I came back for you, you were already…" _Already dead_, Yuffie thought, finishing what he didn't say.

"…I got your heart started again, like Cid said," Vincent confessed after a few moments. "Then I brought you back to the ship and you've been in recovery since then."

"How long ago…?"

"Eighteen hours."

"Wow," Yuffie breathed without thought. She had been unconscious for eighteen hours?

"I was worried," Vincent confessed, though his tone was as dull as ever when he said it. Yuffie, though, paid no mind to that, her eyes going up to Vincent's at his simple words. If he was worried, that meant that he cared, didn't it?

"Sorry about that," Yuffie apologized, though she wasn't sure if she had any real reason to say sorry; she hadn't been able to help it after all. She had thought she would die, but here she was, alive. And she had given Vincent a kiss before everything happened. "Aw, crap."

"What?"

"Nothing," Yuffie said, shaking her head as she blushed.

"Liar."

"….."

"…."

"Where does this put us?" she finally asked, referring to both Vincent saving her and the kiss she had given him.

"…I don't know."

"Do you….?"

"…Yes…?"

Yuffie swallowed, forcing herself to speak. "Do you regret anything that happened?"

"…No."

"Me neither," Yuffie said, a smile starting to appear on her lips. Her smile widened even further when Vincent opened his arms a little bit, inviting her to come to him. She stifled a giggle and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the man she had loved from afar for so long. She leaned her head on his shoulder, her eyes shutting in the comfort of his warm embrace.

"Yuffie."

The girl tensed, pulling back a little bit. "What?" she asked. Had she misinterpreted what Vincent wanted?

"…You're standing on my foot."

Yuffie laughed, relieved that he hadn't said something else. She moved her foot onto the ground, then pulling herself closer to him again. This moment…it just felt right. And she didn't want it to end anytime soon, even though she knew that it wouldn't last forever. There were still problems they were facing: she didn't know how Tifa was doing, and Rude was probably in custody and waiting for a trial. There were so many issues that were unaddressed , and she couldn't help but wonder one thing…

What came next?


	23. Chapter 22: Questions

**Thanks once more to my faithful readers. (: This chapter is a good one in my opinion, and I hope that you enjoy it. Please review! And if you're a Kingdom Hearts fan, check out the OC story I'm working on and the other KH oneshots I have posted. Thanks guys!**

Chapter 22: Questions

It had been six days since the day that Tifa was rescued in the woods by her friends. She slept on and off throughout that period, and she tried to stay awake a lot of the time so that her friends could fill her in on everything. Obviously she missed a lot, considering that she had been separated from them for a few weeks. How did they find her? Did Cloud get her letter? What did Reno have to do with her rescue, if anything?

But those were questions that she never really had the chance to ask. Whenever she was awake, Cloud and everyone else was hounding her about her experiences. And she managed to convey things clearly most of the time, though that didn't halt their questions. Every time they talked about Tifa's side of things, she got so tired and worn out that her friends insisted she slept before they conversation ended. And then whenever she woke up, they'd start the conversations again.

It was annoying, and painful.

Everyone but Cloud knew about her past relationship with Rude when he kidnapped her. Barret had filled Cloud in on what happened between Tifa and Cloud, and that probably helped them figure out Rude's motives. He was jealous.

But Tifa was having a hard time grasping the fact that she once dated that maniac. He seemed so sweet at the time, so caring and so loving. What set him over the edge? Had she done something wrong that could have prevented this whole thing? But…What about Kadaj and his gang? It felt like forever ago that they were alive, but how were they even there? Was it coincidence?

Tifa Lockhart sighed, rolling over in her bed at the millions of questions that haunted her. But then she groaned at the pain that she still suffered with because of Rude's brutality. Several of her ribs were broken and she was achy all over, but she knew things could have been worse. Much worse.

"Cloud! Tifa's awake!" Marlene cried, bolting upright from her spot next to the bed and running out the door. "Cloud!"

Tifa forced her eyes open in time to see the girl run out the door, and again she was tempted to groan. She hadn't even known Marlene was there. But that was beside the point. She just wanted some quiet time while she was awake. Maybe if she shut her eyes and tried to sleep, then she could have some peace.

"Tifa," Cloud said from the doorway, two children standing behind him. Drat, too late.

"Hey," she greeted softly, watching Cloud walk in with a glass of water in his hand. He set it on the table beside her bed, and she didn't have time to thank him before he started speaking again. But he wasn't talking to her; he was talking to the two children who followed him in.

"Why don't you guys go have some fun?" he suggested. "Tifa doesn't need all three of us staring at her while she's awake." The warrior turned his head and winked subtly at Tifa, making her smile weakly in response.

Marlene and Denzel were hesitant, but eventually they left. And when they did, Cloud took a few steps back to the door and softly shut it to give them the first bit of privacy they had since the incident.

Instead of pulling up a chair and being distant like he would have a few months ago, he sat on the edge of the bed by Tifa's stomach and looked down at her. "How do you feel?"

"I'm alright," she insisted softly.

"You don't look alright," Cloud insisted right back, though his voice was gentle. Tifa swallowed when he saw through her lie, and her gaze went down to the bed. She really wasn't alright; she was hurting and questioning everything. She had so many questions to ask, but she found that she was lacking the courage to say them verbally. Why couldn't she just leave them behind and act like everything was fine?

"I just…have been thinking, about everything," she said softly. "About Kadaj and his gang, and about Rude."

"You're wondering if they're connected, aren't you?"

Tifa looked up at Cloud, surprised. But yes, that was what she was thinking about. "You're not the only one thinking about it," he informed her then. "It's something we've all been considering, but we haven't been allowed to interrogate Rude until today."

"We're allowed to interrogate him?" Tifa asked, practically bolting up in her bed at the news. She grunted at the pain in her ribs, but she managed to stay upright despite the intense aching.

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed. "Everyone went over earlier this morning, but I volunteered to stay here and make sure that you're alright. "

"But I don't want to be here," Tifa insisted, shaking her head. "I want to be **there**!"

"You're not in any shape to be up and moving," he pointed out. "They've got it under control, Tifa. Let them handle it."

"No. I don't care if they have it under control. This involves me, and I want to be there."

"You're not going."

"Yes, I am," Tifa said, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. She locked her jaw to hold back the pain of moving, but Cloud's hand gripping her arm made her stop moving anyway.

"You're not going," he repeated, his voice soft but firm.

"You can't tell me what to do, Cloud Strife," she said, feeling anger rising up inside of her. He had no right to hold her back from something that she really wanted to do. She was strong enough to face this physically and he knew it. It would be trying, granted, but she could do it.

"Actually, I can, Tifa Lockhart," he returned, keeping his grip on her arm. Tifa opened her mouth to protest, but Cloud continued before she could get anything out. "I don't care if I'm not your parent. As a friend, I'm going to keep you from doing anything that'll hurt you. You can't handle going to Rude right now."

_Aren't we much more than friends? _Tifa thought, though she didn't say it aloud. She wasn't even sure, considering how much happened lately. First they were enemies, then Cloud worked his way into her heart, and then she was sure that she loved him. And looking into those bright blue eyes, she knew that she still did. Just like she always had.

"Tell you what," Cloud started. "As long as we stay in the house, we'll do whatever you want, okay?"

"Fine," Tifa complied with a sigh. She couldn't win this fight anyway, so she could just hope that if she recovered within a few days, she could help unlock this mystery as well. It was her only choice now, except for her current choice on what she and Cloud would do for the day.

"Tifa?"

He wanted her decision on what they would do, but she didn't know what. Actually, she** did** know; she was just unsure of how to ask what she wanted. "…I just want to be with you," Tifa whispered, feeling tears appear in her eyes. She just wanted to feel safe and secure for once and depend on somebody else to hold her when she was broken.

Cloud released Tifa's arm and immediately embraced her from the side. Tifa felt terrible pain because of her ribs, but she turned towards Cloud and wrapped her arms around his neck. Unbelievably, she started crying as she buried her head in his neck. And she also broke down about why she was crying.

"I was so scared," she whispered into Cloud's neck. "I just…"

"I know," Cloud whispered back, holding Tifa closely.

"No, you don't," she argued weakly. "He was my best friend for so long, and then, he just…" Tifa swallowed, holding Cloud more closely. Rude changed. He was…insane. One of her former best friends tried to kill her. That wasn't alright.

"You know he's not the same person anymore," Cloud said softly. "He's not the person that you once knew…"

"I know. But Cloud…I had a hand in changing him, didn't I? Because I didn't love him back."

"You don't know that."

"…Actually, I do," she said quietly, shaking her head against Cloud's neck. "The first time, right after Kadaj was killed and you came to me and Rude, we were talking. He said he loved me, and I said I didn't feel the same. And then he snapped."

"But you can't force yourself to love him, Teef," he responded gently.

"I did love him….As a brother. Why wasn't that good enough for him? How could he do this…?"

Cloud was silent for a few moments, not that Tifa really expected an answer from him. This was so sudden, so startling. And there was nothing either of them could do to change the things that happened. They could only move on, whether they had these questions or not.

"…I'll find answers to those questions," Cloud promised her after a few minutes of silence. "We'll figure this out…someday."

"Mm," Tifa hummed, wrapping her arms around Cloud more tightly at the reassurance. But…"…That's not the only thing we have to figure out," she said softly, referring to something else. Their relationship.

"What do you want to do?" Cloud asked, knowing what Tifa was referring to.

"….I don't know. All I know is how I feel about you."

"I feel the same way," he said, smiling weakly. But deep down inside, he was wondering how Tifa felt. Did she feel the same way that he did? That was what he thought before, but a lot happened between now and the last time they really spoke.

"…I love you, Cloud Strife," Tifa whispered.

Cloud felt relief then, and that showed when his smile widened. He lifted a hand, running it over Tifa's long hair. "I love you too," he responded.

Tifa smiled softly at his soft-spoken words, her hand finding the back of his neck. She lifted her hand then and ran her hand over the back of his spiky head, her eyes closing in comfort. They both loved each other…After all this time. She loved him all her life, whether she admitted it or not. And he did as well, only he didn't realize it. But now he did, and that was good enough for her.

"I'm always going to protect you," Cloud vowed quietly. "I won't hurt you again by running away…"

"Mm," Tifa hummed, tears appearing behind her closed eyes. He sounded so sincere, which was something that she still had to get used to. But she loved seeing this side of Cloud already. A lot had changed while she was gone, hadn't it? She would have to talk to Yuffie about it when they were both fully recovered. Yuffie was close to that point, but Tifa had a ways to go. Unfortunately, she would just have to wait for her broken ribs to heal.

Cloud's hand continued running over Tifa's hair, making the serious, painful thoughts disappear. She was blessed. She was home, alive, and with somebody who loved her and she loved in return. And Marlene and Denzel…

Tifa opened her eyes, turning her head a little bit and looking towards the door. She saw two young children peaking in, but when they saw Tifa looking at them, they gasped and scurried away. A few soft laughs left her lips, free despite the pain in her ribs. The pain only made her hold Cloud more closely and close her eyes in both comfort and discomfort. The comfort was emotional; the discomfort was pain. But she let the good feelings trump the bad ones as she enjoyed being in the arms of the person she loved.

Maybe things weren't quite alright now, but someday they would be. Just as soon as she got her questions answered.


	24. Chapter 23: Interrogation

**Hello once again, readers. (: Thanks to the few of you who reviewed last time, I always appreciate it. And if anybody else out there appreciates the story, take a minute and review. Seriously, that's all the time it takes!**

**Enjoy this new chapter.**

Chapter 23: Interrogation

Tifa was taking too long to recover for her taste. She wasn't used to being still; she was used to moving around and taking care of her business and taking care of herself. These days, Cloud was doing both. And while that was sweet, she was ready to not depend on him so heavily. That, and something was still eating at her mind.

Rude. She had so many questions about him. Apparently even though her friends had been interrogating him to find out everything that happened, he wasn't budging. It had been one week since they started speaking to Rude. That was two weeks after the incident. That was enough time for Tifa to deal with her injuries. Of course the ribs weren't healed, but she was alright moving around now. And today, that was what she was going to do.

She convinced Cloud to let her see Rude. It wasn't an easy task at all, but he agreed to take her on the condition that she was careful not to get too upset. Tifa had promised, even though she knew that it was a promise she would break. How could she not get upset over this?

Once she was done fixing herself up in her normal outfit, she went downstairs in her home and told Cloud she was ready. He put a sign on the door of the bar saying it was closed and then they were on their way to the place where Rude was currently in custody. It was a small place, right on the outskirts of town. Nobody was aloud in except for the former members of AVALANCHE, those approved by them, and the few guards that were in charge of watching Rude.

Tifa and Cloud arrived when everybody else was already there, not that it made much of a difference for her. She had been waiting a week for this day. This was the day when she would finally be able to see her kidnapper and former lover face-to-face. She would finally get the answers that she sought and perhaps find peace to move on.

Or maybe she would find something not so good.

She chased those thoughts away, looking to her friends. This was it. They were all standing right outside Rude's locked room, with two guards standing at the door. Tifa had permission to go in. Her friends would be standing by if she needed anything. She was ready. But at the same time, she wasn't ready at all.

Ms. Lockhart forced herself to exhale a calm breath before she looked to the guards. She nodded faintly to them and signaled that she was ready to go in, though her heart was beating irregularly in her chest. She needed to pull it together. Fast.

The guard opened the door, revealing a room that was white all around. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all plain except for the front wall having a window that appeared to be a mirror for anyone in the room, but in reality, it was a window that people on the outside could look through to see the room. But what really caught Tifa's attention was that in the middle of the room, there was a wooden table and two chairs. In the chair facing the door, staring at her without sunglasses on, was Rude.

Tifa heard the door shut behind her, locking her in the room with the man who kidnapped her. The man who she once considered a dear friend and a lover. Her enemy.

She swallowed, moving forward and sitting in the chair across from Rude. She folded her hands on the table in front of her, forcing herself to remain calm and composed on the outside as she and Rude stared at each other. "Tell me how you knew where I was when I was being held in Coasta Del Sol," she said, forcing herself to start a formal interrogation.

"You don't care about that," Rude replied smoothly, seeing through Tifa's act to remain composed. "You don't care about any of the questions that you're 'supposed' to ask me. Why don't you ask me the ones that you're really wondering about, hm?"

_Snake_, Tifa thought bitterly, glaring at him. "You showed up at a convenient time, saving me less than a day after I was taken to Coasta Del Sol," Tifa said, ignoring Rude's comment and continuing with the planned questions. "How did you know when Kadaj was going to take me there?"

"Ignore me, why don't you? Lovely, you don't care about any of this. Tell me what you're really thinking?"

"Were you connected to Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo?" she asked stiffly.

"That's not a very polite tone to-"

"**Shut up**, Rude!" Tifa snapped, rising up out of her seat and slamming her hands down on the table in front of her. "You shut up and tell me what I want to know. _Were you responsible for my initial kidnapping?_"

Rude stared at her for a few moments in silence, seeing her seethe before he answered her. "Now we're getting somewhere."

She glared at him, jaw locked and emotion starting to appear in her eyes. She couldn't restrain herself any longer, not in the presence of this pig. "Why did you do this?"

"Because your heart led you astray!" Rude snapped in return. "I cared for you. I treated you well. But the moment Strife returned, you ran into his arms!"

"I told you I didn't love you romantically," Tifa whispered in sadness. "Why couldn't you accept that I loved you as a friend?"

"Because if you let me, I would have treated you much better than Strife ever could!" Rude said. "You just don't get it, do you? He's a selfish, cocky, wanna-be hero. "

"And you're _not _selfish?" Tifa snapped in return. "You kidnapped me for your own selfish reasons. You took me away from my family. You nearly had me killed in the process. Kadaj **poisoned** me! Don't you see the harm you've done?"

"Strife'll do much worse to you!" he retorted in anger. "When as he been there for you in the past? How often has he held you when you cried? How often has he-"

"**Stop it**!"

Rude finally fell silent at Tifa's outburst, and at the moisture that was present in her eyes. Tifa glared at him through teary eyes, betrayal in her facial expression. She had it. She thought she once loved this man, at least for a little while. She considered him to be a friend even after she broke his heart. Was that her fault? Was she too naïve?

"Listen to me," she finally said, her voice softening again. "You don't know him, and you don't know me."

"I don't know you?" Rude repeated, his tone hard and mocking. "I stalked you my entire adult life. I know you better than you know yourself. I know what you need better than you do. You're just too stubborn to admit it."

"I'm too stubborn?" she said in shock. "You're the one too stubborn to see that you're wrong! You can't know me better than I know myself. You've seen me from a distance, which is creepy, by the way. You don't know what goes on in my head."

"…"

"And you never will know," Tifa said softly, turning and starting for the door. She was close to her breaking point with Rude pushing her buttons and making her feel like the bad guy. It was time for her to leave, compose herself, and let somebody else do this interview. Cloud was right; this was a bad idea.

Rude waited until Tifa set a hand on the handle of the door before he spoke. "I told them to bring you to Coasta Del Sol."

"Pardon?" she asked, keeping her back to him. What was he referring to?

"Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. I told them to bring you to Coasta Del Sol after a few days in case Strife found you."

"So you were working with them," Tifa assumed, turning around to face Rude.

"I resurrected them," he responded, shocking Tifa. He saw her expression, which basically asked how he possibly did that, so he decided he would keep explaining. "They were imperfect replicas who believed they were resurrected to recreate Sephiroth. They were really puppets of mine, meant to take you away from your friends so I could be your hero and rescue you."

"You told them to poison me?" she hissed in disbelief.

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "If I didn't give them something to do, then they would have done something worse. They would have just gone out to kill everyone."

"But you killed them," she said. "How would you do that? If they believed they were really alive for Sephiroth's sake, they wouldn't have died easily."

"Elementary, my dear," he said with a slight smirk. "I put a drug in their systems when they were first recreated. When I triggered the capsules to open in their systems, it was almost instant death. Of course, I came in and shot my gun at the same time so the rescue would look convincing."

"…You monster," Tifa whispered. He worked this all out with her kidnapping. "Why did you bring Marlene into this? Why didn't you just have them take me? Why would you do something so sick and twisted in the first place?"

"Why?" Rude asked, rising up from his seat, the chains on his hands and legs letting him stand in that place. "Because, like you said, I'm a monster."

Tifa had it at that. She thought she already was close to snapping, but now there was no doubt that he was at her last straw. She turned the handle of the door and exited the room quickly, seeing her friends all standing by the window and looking at her with startled eyes. She ignored them. She turned on her feet and at first walked down the hall, and then ran.

She had faced many things in her life, but this was one thing that she couldn't face right now. The betrayal sank too deep; she was too emotionally attached still. She thought she was strong enough to face this; she believed that she could face anything that was set in front of her. But she was wrong.

And so, her world came crumbling down again more quickly than she could have predicted.


	25. Chapter 24: Peace

**Author's note: Well guys, I'm posting this chapter pretty early! You wanna know why? It's because it's the last one! Unless people bring up questions that still need answering, in which case perhaps I'll do an epilogue. But as of now, the story is completely. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. And if you haven't reviewed yet, do it now! I LOVE reading your thoughts. **

**Thanks once again, and now, enjoy the chapter!**

…..

Chapter 24: Peace

Cloud found Tifa outside by herself after her encounter with Rude, and he didn't do anything to try and comfort her. He wanted to kill Rude for making her this upset, but he wasn't going to have the chance to do that. Rude was being taken away right away to go to a real jail because of the confessions that he just gave Tifa. Surely that man would be locked away for the rest of his life for his crimes. It was sad, but it was even more sad that Tifa would forever blame herself for what happened. Or would she?

He hoped not. Rude was clinically insane, according to Reeve. Fortunately, none of them were close to Rude in the first place. Except for Reno, who came to talk to his friend earlier. That was a sad sight; Reno tried saving his friend by turning him in, but Rude was beyond saving. And so the friendship between the Turks was over.

Cloud didn't try to say anything to comfort Tifa because he knew he couldn't take away her pain. Not right now. He just set a hand on her shoulder and led her to his motorcycle, which she climbed into behind him in silence. There was nothing left to say, but then again, there was so much unsaid at the same time. So much had happened…

The young man found himself wishing that he never left Tifa. He "ran away" from home because he believed that he was keeping her from living her life. But that was a great error, because Tifa actually loved him. And how could she go on with life without the person that she loved in her life?

She tried replacing him and finding love elsewhere, since she was bitter about him leaving her anyway. But that love ended up betraying her—Rude tried to kill her when he realized that she was in love with another man. Cloud found it extremely sad. How could a man so calm and serious turn insane like he had?

Rude thought that he had nothing, but he didn't. He had Tifa's friendship, at least. And Cloud knew from past experience that her friendship was something one should never take for granted. Reno…he was Rude's friend too. Rude lost sight of all the blessings he had.

Tifa and Cloud arrived home a little later, the blond pulling his motorcycle up in front of the bar. Seventh Heaven hadn't had much business for a while now; they had never really gotten a chance to open it and run the business with how crazy things had been. Cloud had it open perhaps a day or two, but it was only because he was already in the house taking care of Tifa. Perhaps in a few days, she would be able to function at work again. Cloud didn't know for sure.

He watched Tifa walk inside the bar, and he lingered a little to give her room. But then he started forward, feeling hope in his heart.

_Tifa, I hope you'll find some peace. _

…_._

Tifa Lockhart thought she sensed Cloud walk a little behind her when she went through the door to their home and the bar, but she wasn't really paying attention to Cloud. It wasn't because of anything that he did (because, in fact, he had been extremely kind to her). It was because of her thoughts concerning Rude. She really did blame herself for his corruption. She turned away from his love and then ran into Cloud's arms when he returned home. Rude was a rational person, at least in knowing that what she did with Cloud was irrational.

But she did it because she loved Cloud, and she always had. She'd always give him a second chance. Rude could never understand that kind of commitment. He had the mind of a Turk; if somebody betrays you, you don't let them get away. You kill them before they can stab you in the back again.

"Tifa!"

The young woman looked down when she felt a little girl collide with her, a pair of small arms wrapping around her lower waist.

"Hello, Marlene," she greeted softly, a faint smile on her lips. She looked up from her adoptive daughter and saw another boy standing nearby. "Hi, Denzel." The boy smiled shyly and nodded, staying away from the hug. That was typical, since the tough boy wouldn't want hugs._ He's so much like Cloud. _

Marlene snuggled closer to Tifa, making her laugh. "Marlene, what're you doing?

"I'm just really glad to have you home, Tifa," the girl said softly. "I missed you so much when you were gone, and all I wanna do now is hold onto you."

Tifa smiled softly, lowering a hand and setting it on Marlene's head as she looked at the younger girl. She was too sweet.

"Cloud wants to do the same thing, you know," Marlene continued. "He said he wants to hold onto you so nobody can ever take you away from us again."

Tifa turned to look over her shoulder at Cloud, seeing him leaning against the door. "Oh he did, did he?" she asked, amusement in her voice. It was a bit affectionate, too, her brown eyes locked onto Cloud's bright blue ones.

Cloud only smiled to Tifa, nodding faintly before he looked to the little girl clutching her. "What else did I say, Marlene?" he asked softly.

"You said that you wished Tifa would stop blaming herself for everything bad that happens," Marlene answered.

"And that a person can only control their own destiny, so they need to stop focusing on how they affect others," Denzel added. "Because in the end, they choose their own paths and do what they want. Right, Cloud?"

The blond nodded, smiling faintly and shifting his gaze to Tifa. "That's right," he said. "The only thing you can do is focus in your own path and make a positive influence when you can. You screw up, but you can't ruin another person's life. In the end, they ruin their own life by choosing to go down a dark road. That's something nobody is expected to change."

Tifa felt her eyes get a little moist, her gaze locked on Cloud's. He was…right. She made mistakes with Rude, but in the end, he chose to set everything with Kadaj in motion. He was the one who chose to follow his own schemes and he lost himself along the way. It was a sad fate, but one that she had to accept. Rude had to accept it, too.

Cloud stepped forward and set a hand on Tifa's shoulder, gazing at her in silence. Eventually, he moved that hand so that it wrapped around her shoulders in a loving manner. Tifa responded in a gentle way, lightly leaning her weight against Cloud and setting her head on his shoulder. She didn't pay attention to Cloud telling Marlene and Denzel to go into another room and play, her heart finally feeling at ease.

She turned a little and wrapped her arms around Cloud from the side, her eyes shutting in comfort when she felt Cloud's cheek rest on the top of her head. She finally understood now…What happened with Rude wasn't her fault. And it wasn't her responsibility, so it was time to stop worrying about it.

It was time for peace.

A flash of light appeared in the room, something Tifa was able to recognize even with her eyes shut. But they bolted open at the faint clicking noise and landed on a certain person standing a few feet away with a camera.

"Ooo, that'll be great on your Christmas card!" Yuffie said in excitement, lowering the camera that she just used to take a picture of Tifa and Cloud.

Cloud made a sound that showed he was startled, but Yuffie only giggled at the cute couple in the room. Unfortunately for her, they released each other from their embrace because of how shy they both felt.

"Aw, come on," the ninja whined. "You guys'll thank me for this someday. Don't you want a good Christmas card?"

"Since when do we do Christmas cards?" Tifa asked, though amusement shone in her eyes and came through in her voice.

"You guys are no fun!" Yuffie whined yet again. She turned to look towards the hall behind her, camera lowered to her side. "Vinny, help me out!"

Tifa and Cloud both shared a look of humor, seeing the vampire come through the hall to stand next to the girl he recently started referring to as his girlfriend.

"Since when have I ever been one to endorse fun?" Vincent asked in his usual monotone voice, his gaze on the shorter girl.

"Since you're with me!" Yuffie responded, tugging at his arm. "Fun's a big deal now, mister. Especially with Christmas cards."

"It's nowhere near Christmas."

Yuffie huffed, tearing her arm off Vincent's. "But you know we're going to make one too, so you should start getting excited about it now!"

Tifa cracked up laughing when she saw Vincent Valentine's horrified expression, though she tried to quiet her laughs to be polite. The vampire wasn't scared of much, but apparently Christmas cards was one fear of his.

He ran out of the room with Yuffie right on his tail, telling him to stop being a baby and think of poses for their card.

The two remaining people laughed to themselves, the situation extremely humorous. Yuffie and Vincent were an odd couple for sure, but opposites did attract, so they'd see how that relationship went.

"Where were we?" Cloud asked softly, opening his arms up for Tifa to step into.

The brunette only smiled, setting her hands on Cloud's shoulder and tilting her chin up so her face was right by his. "I think we were right about here," she said, in a position where they could kiss.

"You sure about that?"

"What, you wanna go against my memory?" Tifa asked in amusement. If he would rather just hug her than kiss her, then she supposed that would what they would do.

"No way," Cloud said with a faint chuckle. He'd be happy to kiss Tifa; both of them knew that. The two of them inched closer to each other, Cloud's arms gently wrapping around Tifa then. Their eyes shut and they kissed each other gently, love coming through in the action.

But that wasn't the only thing that Tifa felt through the kiss. For the first time in a long time, she felt hope and peace. Hope because she knew that her future could involve peace now that she didn't hold herself responsible for the actions of Rude.

She had a bright future ahead of her. With Cloud. She didn't know what would be in her future, but she wasn't going to worry anymore. She wasn't going to use her today to dwell on her regrets of her past and miss out on what the present could give her. And she wouldn't focus on tomorrow, either, because the unknown could create so much worry.

She'd live for_ today_. Starting now.


End file.
